


The Medic of Voltron

by EJWalters



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, also a soldier, and a pilot, and abuse, but also like, but honestly its mostly when someone asks about her scars, but not even kidding, but those are both triggers and squicks for me, but you should still read at your own discretion, cuz she has a lot of them, i honestly dont even know where this is going, make sure you dont read this if its going to trigger you, mentions of torture, my oc is a medic, oh also theres a mention of rape, or even very detailed, so please dont let it discourage you from reading, so they wont be graphic at all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-02-08 17:28:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 24,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18627892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EJWalters/pseuds/EJWalters
Summary: When Takashi Shirogane returns to Earth via crashing in a space craft, how does Karly Minova handle it? And what happens when she gets dragged into space along with the rest of them?Warning: mentions of abuse, torture, and rape. But it's honestly just mentions. No details of any sort.Note: The Kidge bit is going to be a VERY slow burn. Just so you know.Disclaimer: The only character I own is Karly Minova. Also, I don't proof read before I post, but I plan on editing it later.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro crashes and Karly is one of the medics looking him over. She helps Keith and the other three cadets bust him out.

Karly Minova had been friends with Keith Kogane for a long time. She had grown up together and been in the same school every year since he started kindergarten, two years behind her. That is, until she were taken out of school freshman year of high school to go to the Galaxy Garrison. She trained as a pilot, both as a cargo and fighter pilot. After she had endured battle on earth, it was clear that she had talents in the medical field and a steady enough mind and hands to be a field medic. After she returned, she had trained as a medic and then a doctor. She called Keith often, though sometimes it was just silent as the two of them studied. And then Keith was accepted into the Garrison as well and they saw eachother at every opportunity. By the time she graduated as a doctor, she was the top of her field. Karly, Keith, and Shiro were all good friends before Shiro left on the Kerberos mission. After everyone on that mission went missing, Keith got kicked out of the Garrison, and she was left alone. It was hard, but she worked her way through it. A year later, an alien spacepod landed a couple miles from the Garrison. She was one of the medics to be sent out to investigate. When she saw it was Shiro, she immediately commed Keith and told him to come get him.

She drugged Shiro to keep him unconscious and when she heard the explosions outside, inwardly smirked to herself. Keith then busted through the door and knocked out the other techs. She took off her helmet to keep him from doing the same to she.

“Karly?” he asked in confusion.

“We don’t have much time,” she said, going to help Keith get Shiro off the table.

Then three cadets showed up.

One of them, a Latino looking boy almost shoved she out of the way, “No way! I’m going to rescue Shiro!”

She let out a sigh, “We don’t have time for this, kid. We need to get going.”

Somehow she managed to get all of she out and onto the hovercraft Keith had flown to get Shiro. She slipped out of the hazmat suit as she ran and threw it to the side.

Keith went to get in the front but she slipped in front of him.

“Hey!”

She rolled her eyes, “We both know I’m a better pilot than she and we don’t have time for this.”

He let out a frustrated grunt, but sat behind she. 

“Everyone on?” She asked. She didn’t wait for an answer before she gunned it. 

She didn’t pay any mind to the alarmed cries that came from the other three as she out maneuvered the Garrison to the shack she and Shiro and Keith had found a while ago. When she got there, Keith and the one called Lance helped carry Shiro into the house and onto the couch. She pushed everyone out of the room and started to look Shiro over, grateful she had remembered to grab her medkit before running. She took care of him, checking his vitals and then waking him up by waving some salts under his nose.

Shiro opened his eyes and squinted up at she, “Karly?”

She grinned, “The one and only,” she helped him sit up, “How do you feel?”

He groaned, “Not great, but I’ve been worse.”

She nodded, “You and me both.”

Shiro frowned for a moment before nodding, “Right. We’ve both seen things we shouldn’t have.”

She chuckled, “Yeah. Anyways, she want to try to take a short walk?”

He nodded, “How did she get me out of there?”

“Keith did actually. I commed him before I knocked she out. Sorry about that, by the way. But then he showed up and then three other cadets did too and we all managed to get away and come here.”

“The shack that we found?”

“Yeah.”

Shiro got to his feet and she steadied him as he wobbled a little. He smiled warmly at her, “I’m fine, Karls. Honest.”

“I know but that anesthetic I gave you is gonna leave you a little woozy for a bit,” she told him.

He nodded, “Fair enough.”

She kept her arm around him and he kept his arm around her shoulders as the two of them went through the front door and walked around a little bit.

“It hasn’t changed at all,” he remarked.

She gave him a small smile, “I don’t think deserts change that much in a year.”

He took in a deep breath and let out a healthy sigh, “No, but people do. How are you?”

She blinked, “Me? You’re the one who was held captive by aliens for a year.”

“Yeah and we can talk about that later. I want to know how my best friend is doing,” Shiro said.

She sighed, “I don’t know, Shiro. My best friend died. We all thought you died, and then Keith dropped out for whatever reason and I was left by myself.”

He looked at her sympathetically, “I’m sorry.”

She shrugged, “It’s not like you asked to be abducted by aliens or anything.”

That made him laugh.

She clapped him on the shoulder, “I’m gonna tell Keith you’re up.”

He nodded and watched her walk away.

The four cadets looked up as she walked inside.

“Karly-” Keith started.

She shook her head and then jerked it towards the door, “He’s outside. I know you want to see him.”

He nodded and went to go talk to Shiro.

She sat down on the couch with a sigh and covered her face with her hands, resting her elbows on her knees as she tried not to cry.

“Wait a second, who are you?” One of the cadets asked.

She looked over at him, “Who are you?”

“I asked first,” he argued.

She raised an eyebrow, “I’m the senior officer here.”

The larger boy choked, “How? You’re like the same age as us?”

She only shrugged, “So, names?”

“I’m Pidge Gunderson,” the small one said.

She smiled, “I’ve heard of you. I enjoy your work.”

He flushed, “Which?”

Her smile widened, “Let’s just say there’s a reason you never got in trouble for your extra curricular activities,” and winked.

He grinned.

The big man smiled at her, “I’m Hunk.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

The last cadet watched her warily, “Lance McClain.”

She chuckled, “The one who always crashes the simulator.”

Lance flushed angrily, “Hey!”

She laughed, “I’ve been there, don’t worry about it.”

“Wait, I thought you were a medic?” Pidge commented.

“I am. But I’ve also been a cargo and fighter pilot,” she explained.

Lance’s eyes widened, “No way! You’re-”

“Karly Minova.” she finished for him with a smile.

Pidge and Hunk’s jaws both dropped.

She chuckled, “Howdy.”

They just stared at her for a little while as she cleared her throat uncomfortably.

“Wait, so why did you help us get Shiro out of there?” Pidge asked.

Karly shrugged, “He didn’t need to be in there.”

The man in question walked into the house with Keith trailing behind him.

Shiro came and introduced himself to the three cadets that he didn’t know as she got to her feet and came to a stand over by Keith. They started talking about the energy field of the desert around the house. Karly kept her distance from the others, making sure to keep her personal space. She went with when they all went to check out the energy field and was amazed at the giant mechanical blue lion. She climbed on board and looked around with the others. When they flew into space and were attacked by the giant space warship, she was tossed around while they evaded the gun fire and her head hit the wall and she blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

When Karly woke up again, she was in a completely unfamiliar place. As she came to, a blue wall moved from in front of her and she stepped out carefully, on full alert. This wasn’t the first time she had woken up like this. She looked around for any sort of weapon she could use, but found nothing. That was fine, she didn’t need a weapon. Although, it would have been nice if she had one. She made her way through the facility she was in, keeping her eyes and ears open for anything that might jump out at her. She caught hold of some voices a few minutes later. They seemed vaguely familiar and she surmised that they belonged to whoever her captives were and that they had talked around her while she was unconscious. She peeked around a corner and counted seven people. The skinny one in blue seemed like the easiest and closest target. She took a breath to ready herself and ran in and jumped on him. He let out a cry as they fell to the ground and Karly froze when she heard several cries of her name. She looked up to see Keith, Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, and two strangers looking at her bewildered. Karly looked down at the one she had attacked and pulled his head up by the hair so that she could get a good look at his face.

“Lance?” she asked.

“Hey! Ow! Would you get off?!” he squirmed under her.

Karly got off of him and offered him a hand to help him up, which he swatted away. She gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her neck, “Sorry. I- well,” she looked over at the strangers, “Who are these guys?”

The others filled her in on what had happened while she was out, including an attack by a guy named Sendak, the collection of the other lions, and the formation of Voltron. She listened to the tale and then nodded, “Cool.”

“That’s it? Cool?” Hunk asked.

She shrugged, “When you see what I’ve seen, you get used to things changing up a lot.”

That made all of them frown.

“What things have you seen, Karly?” Allura asked.

She shrugged, “Some cool stuff and some not so cool stuff. Is there a chance there’s some clothes I can change into?”

Allura smiled at her, “Of course. If you’ll come with me,” she held out an arm and Karly followed her out of the bridge to a different room.

Allura gave Karly some new clothes and when she walked back into the bridge in a white tank top, grey sweatpants and a hoodie tied around her waist with her hair in a ponytail, she smirked at Keith-who’s jaw was on the floor, “What?”

“Nothing, you just look like you used to,” he said with a small smile.

Lance frowned at her, “Where’d you get all your scars?”

Karly shrugged, “Depends on which scars your talking about. The burns are mostly from when I was a prisoner of war, the scratches are mostly from my dad, and the others are from when I was goofing off with one of those two idiots,” she gestured at Keith and Shiro.

Pidge frowned as the mood suddenly dropped with her revelation, “You were a prisoner of war?”

She nodded, “Yeah. We had a super top secret war with another country and while I  was on a mission a few days after Shiro’s team left for the Kerberos mission, I was captured and tortured for information.”

They all stared at her.

“How did you get out?” Hunk asked.

“I almost didn’t. I tried to escape multiple times, but each time failed and ended with more torture, most of which left scars that you can’t see,” Karly cleared her throat, “Anyways, I don’t really know how long after I was captured that they made negotiations, and ended the war, but it was after the disappearance of the Kerberos crew was old news.”

Shiro looked at Karly with a question in his eyes. She gave a somber nod and his expression darkened, “I’m so sorry, Karls.”

She shrugged, “It’s okay. I’m fine, honest.”

“How can you be fine? It was less than a year ago when you finally got out?” Lance asked.

Her expression hardened as she turned to look at him, her message clear: don’t push it.

*   * *   * *

A few hours later, after Karly was shown to the room she would be staying in, Shiro came in and sat on the edge of her bed where she was already sitting.

“You okay?”

She scoffed, “What do you think?”

He frowned at her.

She let out a heavy breath, “I’m sorry, Shiro. But you don’t know what it was like. They did unspeakable things.”

“I know.”

“I’m not talking about the branding,” she said.

“I know.”

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, “I don’t know how I’m supposed to recover from it. I used to dream of having a family of my own, but now I freak out if someone sits too close to me! How am I going to let anyone get that close to me?”

Shiro shook his head, “I don’t know, Karls. But I do know that I’m always here for you if you need anything. I mean anything.”

She nodded and held out her arms to him. He quickly pulled her to his chest and held her tightly until she pulled away. That didn’t happen for a while. Karly didn’t cry, she just sat there in Shiro’s arms, a familiar and comforting place- even if one of his arms was a cyborg metal one. In fact, they ended up laying down and cuddling on her bed and falling asleep there. Keith walked by to check on Karly and chuckled at the scene he found. Lance happened to be walking by as Keith looked in and looked over his shoulder.

“Are they together or something?” Lance asked.

Keith shook his head, “No. The three of us are like siblings. Shiro’s like an older brother to the both of us.”

Lance cocked his head to the side curiously, “Does that make you the baby of the family?”

Keith growled at him and was about to reply when Lance shook his head and pointed at Shiro and Karly, signalling for him to be quiet. Keith rolled his eyes and stalked away. Lance glanced into the room one last time before following after.


	3. Chapter 3

When Karly woke up, Shiro was still asleep beside her and she was still cuddled up to him with her head on his chest, clutching his shirt in her hand and the top of her head tucked under his chin. It wasn’t the first time she had woken up like this and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Before Shiro had gone on the Kerberos mission, she had frequently found a safe haven in his room from the nightmares that plagued her dreams. People often teased them about dating, but neither of them paid it any mind because everyone knew they had more of a brother/sister relationship than anything. Karly carefully got out of bed and looked around for the bathrooms so that she could take a shower.

She ran in, literally, to Lance as she searched for the showers.

“Please tell me this isn’t becoming a habit,” Lance said.

She chuckled, “Not trying to. I uh, I wanted to apologize again for yesterday.”

He held up his hands, “Hey don’t worry about it. I get it. And if you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m here. It sounds like you’ve had a pretty rough life.”

She gave a small smile, “A little bit, yeah.”

He smiled at her, “So, where you heading?”

“I’m trying to find the showers actually. I feel kinda gross,” she said. 

Lance nodded, “I totally get that. I’ll show you where it is. I can guard the door if you want?”

Karly smiled, “Thanks.”

They kept talking while they walked towards the showers and then Karly went in and Lance stood in front of the door to make sure no one would come in while she was washing. When she was done and dressed, she stood in front of the mirror that sat over a sink and looked at herself. Forgetmenot blue eyes stared back at her, framed by long, straight, dark black hair and pale skin. She looked at the scars that littered her arms, collar, neck, and face. When she got back and the doctors looked her over, they concluded that approximately 45% of her body was covered in scar tissue. She was surprised at that; she thought there would be more. Karly let out a breath and turned away from the mirror. She went out of the bathroom and started walking. She didn’t have a destination in mind, she just needed to clear her head.

Lance watched her go, sensing that she didn’t want his company.

Keith went to check on Shiro and Karly and was surprised to find Shiro asleep and Karly nowhere to be seen. Usually it was Shiro who was up and at it and Karly who slept in.

“Shiro?” Keith called.

Shiro woke up and looked over at him, “Keith? What’s up?”

Keith walked further into the room, “Does Karly seem different to you?”

Shiro sat up and turned to face him completely, “After going through what she did, she’s going to be different. And we can’t expect her to be the same Karly that we knew before she was captured.”

Keith nodded, “I know. I’m just worried. She’s a lot quieter than she used to be.”

Shiro gave a small chuckle, “I know. It used to be that we could never get her to shut up.”

Keith laughed, “She was the loudest person I’ve ever met.”

“Until you met Lance,” Shiro reminded.

Keith nodded, “That’s true.”

Shiro clapped Keith on the shoulder, “Just be patient with her. She’s still Karly.”


	4. Chapter 4

There was a robeast that attacked and Voltron defeated and while the paladins were off fighting, Karly was on the training deck fighting the gladiator to let off some steam. She was getting tired of being cooped up and doing nothing while everyone else had things to do. Then Allura had the idea to open up the castle to the Arusians and throw a party and she wasn’t opposed to it, but it wasn’t her favorite idea. During the party, she hung out at the edge of the room. When there was an explosion, she ran to the source with everyone else and found Lance knocked out. Karly rushed to his side and started looking over.

“We have to get him to the infirmary!” Pidge cried.

“Without the crystal, all power in the castle is shut down,” Allura told him.

Karly didn’t miss a beat, “I can take care of him.”

The leader of the Arusians came in and told of an attack on the village, and everyone helped for different things. Shiro offered to stay behind and look after Lance and stand guard over the castle but Karly disagreed.

“I’ll take care of him, you worry about something else,” she said.

Shiro hesitated, but nodded. Everyone ran to do what they were set out to do as Karly hauled Lance onto her shoulders and carried him to her room where her med kit was. She laid him on her bed and started to get him out of his armor so she could get a good look at his injuries. She heard Pidge over the comm in her ear that Allura had given her, calling for Keith and telling him that Sendak had Shiro.

“What about Karly and Lance?” Keith asked.

“We’re fine,” she reported, “We’re in my room and I’m looking over Lance’s injuries.”

Allura started giving Pidge instructions to do something but Karly didn’t really pay attention. She did a quick check of her boot to see if her knife was still there and was relieved when it was. She just prayed that the Galra didn’t find them.

Unfortunately her luck didn’t last that long. Heavy footsteps could be heard coming down the hall as Karly tied a bandage off. She glanced at Lance, took a deep breath, and went to the door. She measured the pace of whoever was coming and then slipped out when they had passed by the door, pulling her knife out and matching her pace with the two Galra that were patrolling. She snuck up behind them and silently dispatched them, two heavy thuds falling one after the other.

“I’ve taken care of two of the guards. What’s our status?” she asked.

“What happened to Lance?” Allura asked.

“He’s still in my room. There were guards passing by so I took care of them. Pidge what’s your status?” Karly asked.

Pidge replied, “I’m making sure that they can’t start up the engine.”

“Good. Where’s Shiro?”

“Sendak has him,” Keith answered.

“Where?”

“The bridge,” Pidge answered.

“How many are in there?” Karly asked.

“We don’t know.”

“Karly, if you’re thinking of doing what I think you are, don’t,” Keith said.

Karly rolled her eyes, “Very kind of you, little brother, but I don’t think I exactly have a choice here,” and started sneaking her way towards the bridge.

“You don’t even have any armor!” Keith argued.

“Your point?” she asked.

“Karly’s right, Keith. This is a chance she has to take. After this is over, we can see about getting her some armor,” Allura chimed in.

Keith let out an audible sigh, “Alright fine.”

“Thanks for the permission, kid. Pidge, is there any way you can figure out how many people are in the bridge?” Karly asked.

“Yeah. Give me just a second,” Pidge said, “Okay where are you?”

Karly told her.

“Okay. There are three guards coming up behind you,” Pidge reported.

Karly ducked behind a part of the wall and waited for them to pass her before taking them out, “Anyone else I should be worried about?”

Karly continued on her way to the bridge and Pidge pointed out any guards she needed to keep an eye out for. When she finally got to the bridge, Pidge reported how many Galra were inside.

“Got it. Well, I’ll see you boys on the other side then,” Karly slipped inside the bridge and found Shiro laying on the floor unconscious and four guards, two on each side of the door, with several others in the room. She walked in and came to a stand between the four guards, “Hey.”

The two closest to her turned and shot at her, but she ducked under the shots before they could fire at her. They dropped to the ground as the other two turned to attack. She quickly took care of them and they joined their friends on the floor as she turned to face the other Galra that were coming towards her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shiro move a little. She took out the other Galra soldiers that came for her, but then Sendak himself came for her and knocked her on her back.

“You’re not a paladin,” he growled.

“Ah so you do have a brain,” she quipped, getting back to her feet.

“When I’m done with you, you’ll have been through more pain than you can imagine,” Sendak promised.

Karly chuckled, “There’s nothing you could do to me that I haven’t already been through.”

They attacked eachother again, but this time, Sendak overpowered her and threw her with Shiro. Karly landed with a grunt and managed to get herself to her knees with her hands behind her back. She went to Shiro and looked him over the best she could. He seemed to be fine, and responded when she nudged him with her foot.

“Shiro! Wake up, old friend,” she whispered.

Shiro let out a groan and blinked his eyes open, “Karly? They got you too?”

She smirked, “Not without a fight,” and nodded to the pile of Galra soldiers that was by the door to the bridge.

He gave a small smile.

Sendak tried to use Karly and Shiro to convince Pidge to give up, torturing the two of them with some form of electricity, but it didn’t really phase her and she shouted for Pidge not to listen to him. Shiro slumped over next to her, panting, as Karly glared up at Sendak.

“You’re going to lose,” she growled.

“Oh? Well, the way I see it, you’re the one in shackles,” Sendak retorted, and hit her with another dose of electricity.

Karly spat at him and earned another dose. This time, she was left with very little energy, but she managed to stay sitting up and glaring daggers at him.

Pidge managed to take care of everything on his own and Karly couldn’t have been prouder of the little paladin. When they had all taken care of the Galra that had invaded the ship, she hurried Lance into a pod for him to be healed. After a day or so in it, He was fully healed, but Karly wasn’t there. Nor was she there when he had gotten dressed or sat down to ear, but the others told him about how he probably wouldn’t have survived if Karly hadn’t been there to look after him.

“Well where is she?” Lance asked,

They all shrugged.

“She made sure you got into the pod alright and no one’s seen her since, “ Pidge supplied.

Lance frowned, “I need to thank her. She saved my life.”

“I hope she got her rest,” Shiro said.

The others frowned at him.

“Sendak hit her with electricity from his mechanical arm three times. I don’t know how she survived. I lost most of my energy after one hit,” Shiro explained.

Now they were all worried.

It was Lance who found her. She was on the training deck looking exhausted as she sat against a wall, the gladiator in pieces on the ground.

“Oh, you’re awake. That’s good,” She commented when he came through the door.

Lance nodded and walked towards her, “You look like crap.”

She offered a weak smile, covered in sweat and panting, “Thanks.”

He sat beside her, “I wanted to thank you. You saved my life.”

She waved a hand, “It’s no big deal. If I wasn’t there you would have made it, it probably would have just taken you a little longer in the pod.”

Lance shook his head, “According to Allura and Coran, if you hadn’t been there and patched me up I wouldn’t be here. So thank you.”

Karly shrugged, “It’s what I do. I’m a medic.”

“And apparently one heck of a fighter. Shiro told us about what you did in the bridge. And how you managed to survive three hits of electricity from Sendak.”

She gave a sheepish smile, “I’ve had worse.”

Lance gave her a look, “I can’t imagine going through what you have.”

“As long as I’m around, you won’t have to find out,” Karly promised.

They stared at eachother for a moment before Karly got to her feet, standing on shaking legs. Lance stood with her and grabbed her arm. She gave him a look, but seemed to know if she pulled away from him, she wouldn’t be able to stay on her feet.

“I think we need to get you in a pod. You don’t look too good,” Lance told her.

She shook her head, but before she could speak, Shiro came in and took in her appearance, “I agree with Lance. Have you slept at all since?”

Karly hesitated, then shook her head, “After I made sure Lance was secure in the pod, I came here.

“Yeah, it’s definitely your turn in a pod,” Hunk commented from the door, where everyone else was gathered.

Karly groaned, “Seriously? Why is everyone ganging up on me?”

“We’re looking after you,” Allura corrected.

“After what Shiro said about the electricity, you should have gotten into a pod with Lance,” Coran added.

Karly shook her head and took a step forward, but her leg gave out from under her and Lance was the only thing keeping her from hitting the floor.

He picked her up bridal style, “Yeah, no. You’re going in a pod. No arguments.”

She opened her mouth to do so, but she knew they were right. She had overworked herself and she really should have gotten into a pod when Lance did.

“You know, for being a medic, you’re horrible at taking care of yourself,” Keith commented.

Karly chuckled as Lance carried her to the medbay and everyone followed.

“Oh, before Karly goes in there, I have something I need to tell all of you,” Pidge said.

All attention turned to him.

“I’m actually a girl.”

Lance dropped Karly from shock, but luckily Shiro was there to catch her.

“What??” Lance cried.

Karly laughed, “I kinda figured.”

“Yeah me too,” Keith said.

Everyone else said something that agreed that they had pretty much figured it out.

Lance was still bamboozled and turned to Karly, “So what, are you actually a guy?”

Karly shook her head, “Nope.”

Shiro carried her the rest of the way to the pod while Lance tried to wrap his head around the fact that Pidge was, in fact, female- something everyone else found amusing. He carefully placed her in the pod and Allura hit a few buttons on the control panel and the front of the pod closed and Karly passed out.

“Has she always been like this?” Allura asked Keith.

Keith shrugged, “More or less. But it wasn’t this bad before.”

“Before she was captured?” Allura asked.

Keith nodded.

Allura nodded in understanding, “War changes people. It’s a wonder she still finds it in herself to smile.”

Keith agreed, “She’s always been like that, though. Her father wasn’t exactly the nicest person, but you would never see Karly without a smile on her face.”

“You’re not in love with her are you?” Allura asked.

Keith chuckled and shook his head, “Not at all. She’s like my big sister.”

Allura smiled, “That’s what I thought, but I wanted to check.”

Keith smiled back at her and they all went their separate ways. All except Lance.

“You’re staying?” Shiro asked.

Lance nodded, “I don’t want her to be alone when she wakes up.”


	5. Chapter 5

When Karly did wake up, she fell flat on her face. She pushed herself into a sitting position with a groan, rubbing at her nose, and looked around. Lance was sitting on the floor leaning against the pod she had been in, eyes closed and drool on his chin.

She chuckled and shook his shoulder gently, “Lance.”

He groaned and mumbled something in his sleep.

She shook him again and called his name again.

His blue eyes opened slowly and when they saw her, frowned, “Karly?”

She nodded, “You fell asleep. Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

“Okay,” Lance let her pull him to his feet, but didn’t let go of her hand.

Karly didn’t think much of it, just that it would be easier to direct the half-asleep boy. When she got him into bed, she went to go see if anyone else was awake. When no one was, she went to her room to find her knife sitting on her pillow, cleaned and sharpened with a note from Keith.

_ Found this in the bridge. Thought you might want it back. _

_ -K.K. _

Karly smiled and put it in its place before changing into her clothes and wondering what she should do now. Everyone was asleep. She thought about sleeping as well, but she never felt more rested in her life. With a sigh, she decided to just walk around. She debated on waking up someone so that they could just hang out or something, but she knew that they all needed their rest. That was, until she passed Keith’s room. She heard him moving around in his bed and then heard him cry out. She cautiously opened the door and found him thrashing around in his sleep. She sat on the edge of his bed and he woke with a start, pulling his knife out from under his pillow - a habit that he had picked up from her - and pointed it at her, still in the mentality of his nightmare. He blinked a few times and when he realized who was at the end of his blade, quickly put it away.

“Karly, I’m so sorry,” he started to say.

She shook her head and brushed the hair that was sticking to his face with sweat from his eyes, “It’s alright. You don’t need to apologize to me, Keith.”

His eyes filled with tears as he looked up at her, “Will you stay with me?”

She nodded, “Budge up.”

He moved over so that she could lay beside him and lifted the covers to allow her to slip under them. When she was situated, she held her arms out to him and he cuddled up to her, resting his head on her shoulder and hugging her tightly. She used one hand to rub his head and run her fingers through his hair to sooth him and the other to hold him close to her.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked softly.

He shook his head.

“Do you want to be distracted from it?”

He nodded.

Karly nodded and started to tell him a story. It didn’t really make sense, but it was a story she had been telling him for years whenever he had nightmares. It wasn’t very often that she had to tell it, but it was her bedtime story for Keith.

“Once upon a time, there was a handsome young prince who didn’t want to be a prince,” she started, as always.

And as always, Keith asked her, “What did he want to be?”

“He wanted to be an astronaut,” she answered, “He loved the night sky and what lay in it and he wanted to see the stars for himself. Every night, he would go outside and look up at the sky and chart the stars. He found constellations and named them,”

“What did he name the constellations?” Keith asked her, like he always did.

“He called one of them Cancer, another Orion, another Aquarius, a different one he named Ursula,” she said.

Keith giggled, “Ursula is a Disney character.”

Karly chuckled, “Right you are, little brother. But he called one Ursula anyways.”

“Okay.”

She continued with the story, Keith interrupting every now and then, and it gave both of them a sense of peace, of normality. Not to mention it took both of their minds off of the nightmares in their minds. Eventually Keith fell back asleep and Karly stayed awake to chase away the bad dreams that might come to haunt him. When Keith woke up, Karly was asleep, her chest rising and falling in an even pattern beneath his head. He was glad she had stayed with him. He had missed their story and missed her even more. He looked at her sleeping face. It was incredible how when she was asleep she looked so peaceful and calm and relaxed, without a single wrinkle of worry on her face, but when she was awake, her eyes were hardened and she was always on guard, her body coiled like a spring, ready for anything. She was always like that, he supposed. Especially when she still lived with her father. But when she was at the Garrison, she had started to relax. Then after she had disappeared for the eight months she was a captive, she was wound more tightly than he had ever seen her and rarely relaxed. It worried him.

Keith got out of bed, careful not to wake her, and went to go see if Hunk was working on breakfast. Hunk was the earliest riser out of all of them. Except for maybe Shiro and Karly. But he knew if Karly was still asleep, she really needed it.

When Karly did wake up, it was from a smaller nightmare than she usually had. She sat bolt upright when she woke up, and was left shaking under the covers. She flopped onto her back and then curled up onto her side and started crying. She had forgotten that Keith’s room was next to Shiro’s or that she was even in Keith’s room so when Shiro opened the door and came in, she jumped in surprise and sat up and quickly wiped her face and nose. Shiro gave her a soft look and walked in and held his arms out to her when he sat on the edge of the bed. Karly crawled into his lap and he held her tight and let her cry.

“Did you have a nightmare, Karl?” he asked softly.

She nodded.

“I’m sorry, honey. Do you want to talk about it?”

She sniffed and looked up at him, her eyes big and full of unshed tears, her cheeks shining with the ones that had already fallen, “It was McClausky. He was my wingman. They took him and tortured him in front of me. They-” she let out a sob, “They did such horrible things to him.”

Shiro hugged her tightly as she buried her face in his chest and continued crying. “Do you want to talk about what they did?”

She shook her head.

He nodded, “Okay. You don’t have to.”

When Karly had calmed down, he grabbed a tissue for her and let her blow her nose.

“You want to go see what Hunk made for breakfast?”

She nodded, wiping her face.

“Okay,” He got up and offered his hand to her.

She took it and felt like a little girl being lead around by her father as she and Shiro went to the dining hall. The only difference between Shiro and her actual father being that Shiro was far kinder to her than her father ever was.


	6. Chapter 6

When Shiro sat at the table, Karly sat and curled up in his lap. She didn’t care what the others thought of her. She needed the closeness.

Keith was already mostly done with his meal and chuckled at her, asking Shiro, “Is she still really sleepy?”

Shiro shrugged, “In a manner of speaking. You want to take her after you’re done with your breakfast?”

Keith nodded, “Sure.”

Despite her toughness and muscle, Karly was still small in stature. She was taller than Pidge, but shorter than the boys and in no way looked as strong as she actually was. That meant that she could easily curl up in the lap of anyone in the castle, except for maybe Pidge.

When Keith was done with his breakfast, he went over to Shiro and Karly and lifted the woman into his arms and sat down. She nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck and let out a little sniff, making Keith look questioningly over to Shiro, who mouthed “nightmare”. Keith nodded in understanding.

By the time Shiro was done with breakfast, Karly was sitting in her own chair eating her own.

“You gonna be okay by yourself?” Keith asked.

She nodded, “Thanks.”

They left for the training room, leaving Karly to eat her breakfast on her own. That is, until Pidge and Lance walked sleepily to the dining room. As they ate, they woke up more and started to engage in conversation. Karly didn’t participate. Instead, she elected to just eat her meal in silence and listen.

“It looks like you slept in, Karly,” Pidge commented.

She shrugged, “I was tired.”

Lance nodded, “How are you feeling?”

“Physically? Better than I have in a while,” she admitted.

Pidge frowned, “What do you mean physically?”

“There’s a lot of things I have to recover from, little one,” Karly told her.

Pidge understood then.

Lance frowned, “What exactly did you go through?”

Distantly, Karly heard the screams of McClausky in the back of her mind. She shook her head to make it go away, “Things you wouldn’t even dream of.”

His frown deepened, but he didn’t push it, which she was grateful for.

“I’m gonna go take a shower,” Karly announced, standing up, thinking that hopefully it would wash away the feeling that came with reliving her torture. It most likely wouldn’t, but it was worth a shot.

She turned the water as hot as she could stand it and just stood under the spray of it for a while, relishing the feeling of the muscles in her back and neck relax slightly at the warmth. She let out a deep breath and just stood there, lost in thought. She heard the door open and someone called out her name, snapping her back to reality.

“Karly?” It was Pidge.

“Yeah?”

“Is it okay if I come in?”

“Sure.”

Pidge came in and started getting ready for the day, making sure to keep her eyes off of Karly. That is, until she caught sight of the massive scar that ran across the length of her back diagonally. It was thick and ropey and not at all clean. She gasped and her toothbrush fell out of her hand and mouth, clattering onto the floor.

Karly spun around, tensed and ready for whatever had made Pidge gasp like that, “What happened?”

“Nothing, I-I, I just saw your back,” Pidge said.

Karly frowned, “What about my back?”

“You mean you haven’t seen it?” Pidge asked.

Realization dawned on her face, “You mean the really long scar?”

Pidge nodded.

Karly gave a small smile,” I’ve seen it.”

Pidge looked closer at the scars that she could see and saw that most of them were mangled. They weren’t pretty, but they held a certain beauty that only things with a horrible story behind them could have.

“Do you want to see it again?” Karly asked.

Pidge nodded and Karly turned around so that she could see the long scar on her back. Pidge looked at it and the other scars that littered the area.

“How did you get it?” Pidge asked.

Karly shook her head, “I don’t remember. But I know my dad was really angry that night and that he broke a bottle.”

Pidge frowned, “How do you talk so easily about everything?”

Karly shrugged, “I learned that if I don’t and I keep it bottled up, it only ends up hurting me more.”

Pidge just stared at her in amazement, “You have to be the strongest person I know.”

Karly felt her cheeks warm up at that, “Yeah, well, we all have our crosses to bear. Mine just happened to be paternal abuse and about eight or nine months of torture.”

Pidge picked up her toothbrush and threw it away before getting a new one, “Yeah, but I don’t know if I could survive what you have.”

Karly started finishing up her shower, “I hope you never have to find out.”

 

Lance went up to Keith in the lounge, “Do you know where Karly got the scar on her face?”

Keith shrugged, “Haven’t really asked. But you could ask her. She’ll tell you.”

Lance scoffed, “Yeah right.”

“No, really. If you ask her a question, she’ll answer it honestly. You might not get the answer right away, but she’ll tell you,” Keith promised. 

Pidge walked into the room, now in her regular clothes, “Have you guys seen the giant scar on Karly’s back?”

Keith nodded, but Lance shook his head.

“She said she got it from her dad, but she doesn’t remember what happened,” Pidge said. 

“She wouldn’t,” Keith said, “She got her head pretty hard and lost a lot of blood that night and was in the hospital for a month afterwards. It’s what got her dad put in jail.”

Lance and Pidge’s jaws dropped to the ground. 

“Wait, how do you know?” Lance asked. 

“I was there,” Keith answered, “For the aftermath at least.”

“How old was she?” Pidge asked. 

Keith thought about it for a moment, “It was about five years ago, so fourteen? Then Shiro became her legal guardian.”

Lance and Pidge just stared at him.

Hunk walked in then, “Hey guys. Whatcha talkin’ about?”

“Karly,” Keith said simply. 

Hunk nodded, “She is like the nicest person I’ve ever met. She just came into the kitchen and told me how much she likes my cooking. And she got really excited when I offered to teach her!”

Keith smiled a little to himself. That sounded like the Karly he knew.

“Where is she now?” Lance asked. 

Hunk shrugged, “I think she’s with Allura.”

They later launched the castle from Arus and started for the Balmera that Hunk and Coran got the crystal from. They got a distress signal and decided to help. Hunk was suspicious of Rolo while Lance flirted shamelessly with his lady friend, who for some reason seemed to be eating it up. Karly decided to keep an eye on them, deciding that the others could handle Rolo and his little boy that Pidge feel in love with. When she saw Lance and the girl go into the castle, she felt uneasy and had an idea of where this was going, so she went into the blue lion ahead of them. When they got into the cockpit, Karly was already waiting for them. 

“Lance, what do you think your doing?” She asked. 

“Come on, Karly. I don’t need a babysitter,” he whined. 

Karly raised an eyebrow and looked at the girl who’s lap he was sitting in, “Are you sure about that?”

Lance glared at her, “Why don’t you go make sure Shiro’s okay? I’m sure he wouldn’t be happy that you’re in here.”

Karly glared at him, “Shiro’s gay, you idiot.”

Lance blinked, “Oh.”

“Lance,” the girl whined, “Make her go away.”

Karly glared at her, her gaze colder than ice, “Who are you to tell a paladin of Voltron what to do?”

The girl glared right back, “Who are  _ you _ to tell a paladin of Voltron what to do?”

“I hold the highest rank of all of them back on our planet. So I suggest you shut it,” Karly snapped. 

Lance rolled his eyes, “You’re so uptight, Karly. One ride won’t hurt anything.” And so Lance launched the lion into space. Karly rolled her eyes, but sat tight.

When the girl shackled Lance to the tree, Karly tried to fight her off herself, but ended up shackled to it right beside Lance before disappearing with the blue lion.

“I hope you got what you wanted,” Karly growled, yanking at the cuffs that bound her wrists together. 

Lance glared at her, “I would have been just fine if you hadn’t been here.”

“Shove it, Cadet,” she said, “You’re the one who got us into this situation in the first place. At least own up to it.”

Lance rolled his eyes, “Whatever, at least try to help me get my helmet.”

Karly watched in amusement while Lance did everything he could to reach his helmet that held the comms unit inside. 

“Why aren’t you helping me?!” Lance cried after a few moments. 

Karly chuckled, “Hey guys? Yeah Rolo and his girl stole the blue lion from cadet idiot over here. Can you come give us a lift?”

Lance looked up at her in confusion before he heard Shiro’s voice faintly from his helmet and then Hunk rambling about how he knew they shouldn’t have trusted Rolo and his crew.

“Comms unit in my earings, dumb dumb,” Karly explained. 

“You got chained too,” Lance grumbled.

Karly only rolled her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some fluff!!

Keith stopped the ship and got Lance’s lion back and then teased him about coming to unchain him.

“We might just get Karly and leave Lance. Maybe she can bond with Blue,” Keith teased.

Karly giggled.

“What?” Lance demanded.

“Keith’s threatening to just rescue me and leave you in the dust,” she said simply.

“Hey!” Lance said.

Karly laughed, “He’s just teasing you.”

Lance harrumphed and kicked at Karly’s ankles.

“Hey! Don’t be childish. It’s a joke!” she giggled.

They rescued Karly and Lance and made plans to go to the Balmera that Hunk and Coran got the crystal from to rescue the Balmerans.

Karly ruffled Keith’s hair, “Good job with getting Rolo, kid.”

He chuckled and ducked under her hand, “Thanks.”

When they got to the Balmera, Karly stayed in the castle with Coran and Allura, feeling pretty useless. Yes, she was a medic, but she was also a soldier and a pilot with nothing to do. Even when they were fighting the robeast and healing the Balmera, there was nothing for her to do. Until-

“Look!” Shay’s grandmother pointed to Karly’s hands where they were resting on the surface of the Balmera to prop herself up where she was sitting. The ground beneath her hands was glowing blue, just like it had with Allura.

Karly stared for a moment before getting to her feet and running to stand beside Allura.

“Karly? What are you doing?” Allura asked.

Karly smiled, “I think I can help you restore the Balmera.”

Allura nodded and together they stood in the circle of the Balmerans and then knelt to rejuvenate the Balmera. When they were done, they both collapsed to the ground, utterly spent. Coran rushed to Allura to make sure she was okay while the Ballmera covered the robeast in crystals. Karly weakly pushed herself up onto her elbows and looked to see it. Hunk noticed her state and rushed to her side.

“Karly!”

He helped her sit up as the rest of the paladins rushed over to make sure she and Allura were alright.

“You did it!” they all celebrated.

Lance helped Karly to her feet, “I’m sorry I got mad at you earlier.”

Karly let out a weak chuckle, “It’s alright. Are you guys all okay?”

Shiro shook his head with an amused smile, “We’re fine. You need to rest, though.”

Karly groaned, “I hate doing nothing.”

Lance gave her a winning smile, “We can do face masks if you want.”

Karly laughed, “Okay. Let’s get inside first, yeah?”

Lance nodded.

Shiro and Keith helped Karly change into pajamas and get settled in bed before Lance came in with a cookie sheet full of stuff,.

“You guys joining us?” Lance asked as he came to sit by Karly, setting the tray down on the bed in front of him.

Keith and Shiro had never left a room so fast.

Karly laughed.

Lance chuckled, “Okay so are we doing nails or face masks first?”

Karly tilted her head to the side, “What?”

“Are you telling me you’ve never had your nails done?”

She just looked at him.

“No way!”

She shrugged, “I’ve never really had the time for it.”

He shook his head, “Well we’re fixing that right now. Give me your hand.”

She gave him her hand and he put it in a warm bowl of water. 

“What are you doing?” Karly asked.

“I’m soaking your fingers so that I can trim your cuticles.”

“Trim my what?”

“Your cuticles. They’re the little bits of skin that cover the bottom of your nails.”

Karly was still confused, but let Lance do his thing, deciding not to question him. He did her nails and then helped her put on a clay face mask.

“How do you know how to do all this stuff?” Karly asked after a while.

“I have an older sister, Veronica. She made me learn so that I could pamper whoever I ended up marrying or just to help my friends relax,” Lance answered easily, “I actually use face masks every once in a while.”

Karly chuckled, “Like right now?”

Lance paused in where he was with his progress of putting on his face mask and then chuckled, “Yeah. Like right now.”

They smiled at eachother and then he kept putting on his face mask.

“So how many siblings do you have?” Karly asked.

“Three. There’s Marco, Luis, and Veronica,” he answered, “What about you?”

She shook her head, “Unless you count Shiro and Keith.”

Lance looked at her for a moment, “They’re family in the way that matters.”

She gave him a small smile, “Yeah. Thanks for looking after me. No one’s ever really done this before.”

He smiled warmly at her in return, “You’re welcome.”

They talked for a couple of hours and Lance helped Karly take off her face mask carefully. He accidentally moved towards her face a little too quickly, making her flinch back from him instinctively.

“Sorry,” Lance said quickly.

Karly cringed, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Lance assured, “You okay?”

She nodded, “Yeah. I just,” she let out a shaky breath, “Usually whenever people come near my face it’s not for anything good.”

He nodded, “I understand. Can I help you get the face mask off now?”

She only nodded.

Lance was a lot gentler than he was originally going to be. She watched his face as he worked and noticed his tongue poking out a little as he concentrated. His eyes were a deep blue, like the ocean at noon on a clear day back home on Earth. His brow furrowed as a part of the mask wouldn’t come off and he scrubbed a little at it.

Karly flinched.

“Sorry,” he quickly apologized.

“It’s not your fault,” she promised, “That scar is still really sensitive.”

It was the scar on her face that ran diagonally over her right eyebrow, eye, cheek, and both lips, coming to a stop a bit above her chin.

“Where did you get it?” Lance asked.

“From a really hot knife. It was when I was captured back home,” she answered.

Lance nodded, “I’ll be more careful, then.” And he was. When he got all of the mask off, he studied her face. She had a little scar on her left eyebrow that was really thin and old looking, one on her nose that was a little squiggly looking and no longer than an inch, and the really gnarly one that ran across the right side of her face. He ran his thumb gently over the one on her nose, “What’s this one from?”

She let out a little giggle, “I fell off a swivel barstool and hit my face on the corner of the marble counter. I was three.”

He chuckled and gently tapped the one on her eyebrow, “And this one?”

She smiled, “Fell out of a tree and landed on my face.”

He laughed.

“You have a nice laugh,” she said, smiling softly.

“You have a nice smile,” he said.

She flushed and ducked her head down, her smile growing a little.

“I mean it,” he insisted.

She giggled, “Stop it!”

He smiled, “No!”

Coran came in, “Lance, you’re needed on the bridge.”

Lance nodded, and turned to Karly, “You gonna be okay without me?”

Karly nodded, “I think I can manage.”

He smiled, “Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”

She nodded, “I will.”

Lance left.


	8. Chapter 8

Karly slept for a little bit and then woke up from another nightmare. This one was new and actually kind of a refreshing break from reliving the torture she had been through. She shook it off and got up, a sudden bad feeling settling over her. She got out of bed, feeling a wave of dizziness from standing up too quickly before it passed and she went to see what was happening around the castle. She found Lance and Keith.

“Hey, guys. What’s going on?” she asked.

“The gladiator attacked me!” Keith exclaimed.

“Yeah, and then the castle locked me in a pod and started the cryogenic freezing process!” Lance yelled, ”And then it put me in an airlock chamber and tried to suck me out into space!”

Karly frowned, “Where was the last place you saw Shiro?”

“Down with Sendak,” Lance answered.

Karly cursed, “You guys go find the others, I’ll go make sure he’s okay.”

Karly started running to find Shiro. She ran into the room he was in and called his name.

Shiro looked up at her and shook his head as if coming out of a trance, “Karly?”

“Are you okay?” she panted.

“I- shouldn’t you be resting?” he was still really out of it.

“Are you okay?” she pressed.

“Sendak… he was in my head, Kar. Saying that I’m like him,” Shiro looked down at his cyborg arm.

Karly put a hand on his cheek and he leaned into its familiarity, “Takashi, you are nothing like Sendak. He takes lives, you save them. He puts people into bondage, you free them. You are complete opposites. You hear?”

He nodded, “Yeah.”

She nodded once, “Good.”

“Karly Minova,” a voice said.

She flinched and Shiro did too.

“Wha-?”

“You think you are good, but you’re not. In fact, you’re worse than me,” it was Sendak’s voice in her head.

Karly shook her head, “No. I’m nothing like you.”

“Oh really? Then why don’t you share what really happened to Charlie. Tell your friends why McClausky didn’t make it home,” his voice taunted.

She shook her head more insistently and backed away from the pod Sendak was in, “No, no! I did it to save him! He was dying and they kept hurting him! I- He asked me to, I didn’t want to.”

Sendak’s voice continued to taunt her, even as she covered her ears with her hands. Her back hit the wall and she slid dwn it until she was curled up against it, shaking her head at the things Sendak was accusing her of. She didnt know when she started crying or even that she was, only that her face was wet and she couldnt breathe. When someone touched her shoulder, she almost screamed and flinched away from the touch. Distantly, she could hear someone talking to her. The voice was familiar and kind and was slowly becoming clearer to her.

“Just breathe, Karly. You’re okay,” the voice said. It was male.

Karly blinked and shook her head a little, opening her eyes to see deep blue ones looking at her in worry, “Lance?”

He gave her a soft smile, “Hey. Are you okay? What happened?”

“Sendak. He was in my head. I-” a new wave of tears fell.

Lance cooed and pulled her to his chest until she was practically in his lap, “It’s alright.”

Karly buried her face in the crook of his neck and just cried. And he let her, trying to comfort her the best he could, saying sweet nothings softly in her ear. He just held her and did his best to calm her down and make sure she knew she was safe. At some point the others left to go do something to fix whatever was going on with the castle, but he didn’t really pay any attention to what they were doing. He was more focused on helping Karly.

“I’m getting your jacket covered in snot,” Karly said suddenly.

Lance chuckled, “It’s okay. I can wash it.”

She adjusted the way she was sitting in his lap and nuzzled into his shoulder, “Can we just sit here for a little bit?”

“Of course. Are you okay?” he asked, adjusting the way his arms sat around her.

She shrugged, “I don’t know yet.”

He nodded and tucked the top of her head under his chin, “Okay.”

Karly let out a heavy sigh and wiped her face with her hands, “I’m sorry you got stuck with taking care of me.”

“Hey, missy,” he looked down at her and waited for him to look up at him, “I would take care of you any day.”

She let out a little laugh, “Now you’re just flirting with me.”

“No I’m serious, Karly,” he insisted.

She frowned, but saw that he was being serious, “Okay.”

“You want to talk about what happened?” Lance asked.

She thought about it for a moment, “Sendak was in my head. He was saying that I’m no different from him. That I’m a killer just like he is.”

“You’re not a killer, Karly,” Lance started to assure her, but she was already shaking her head.

“But I am, Lance. My wingman, McClausky? He was really weak. All of the things they were doing to him was making him tired and sick and they didn’t let him rest enough for him to have the strength to keep going. One day after a really rough session, he asked me to put him out of his misery. So I did. I killed him. And they didn’t save me. I managed to escape. And every attempt and when I finally did get out, I killed people, Lance. I’ve killed so many people,” she ended in a whisper.

“That’s different. McClausky wouldn’t have made it anyways, from the sound out it. You save him from a lot of pain. And the people you killed to escape deserved it. You have a heart of gold, not the heart of a killer,” Lance reassured.

Karly sniffed, “Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay.”

A Pause.

“Can we go get something to eat?”

Lance chuckled and stood up, still holding Karly in his arms, making her squeak and cling to him tightly, which made him laugh.

“Lance! I can walk on my own!”

“Yeah, but this is more fun,” he started walking towards the kitchen.

Karly wriggled in his arms to try to escape, making him lose his balance and sending them both tumbling to the floor.

Lance landed on Karly, knocking all of the breath out of her chest with an “oof”.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She took a second to get her breath back before nodding and then laughing, “You couldn’t just put me down, could you?”

Lance chuckled, “Well you couldn’t let me just carry you?” he asked incredulously.

“I’m a soldier, Cadet, not some damsel in distress for you to sweep off her feet. I’m used to doing things myself,” she poked fun at him a little.

He rolled his eyes, “You know, technically, as a paladin of Voltron, I outrank you, Minova.”

She scoffed and waved it aside, “Semantics.”

Lance chuckled and then they just sort of stared at eachother, Karly looking at the specks of color in Lance’s eyes, and Lance studying her face. Black hair serving as a dark halo for her pale skin and iceberg blue eyes that were bright with amusement. The scar that cut across the right side of her face. They stayed like that for a few long moments before Lance blinked, realizing the position they were in. He felt his face heat up as he quickly moved off of Karly.

Karly looked up at him curiously, “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah. Um, should we go get that food?” he held a hand out to her to help her to her feet.

She took it and together they hauled her to her feet.

Lance silently cursed himself. He was always flirting with people, but it was always more for fun than anything else. Now, he wasn’t so sure. The more time he spent with Karly, the more he liked her. He shook his head. He didn’t know what to do if he developed feelings for her.

Karly, of course, was clueless to this. She had always been clueless when it came to someone liking her. Shiro or Keith always had to point out to her that someone was flirting with her in order for her to pick up on it. And as a blushing Lance and a laughing Karly came into the kitchen, Keith and Shiro looked at eachother in a sort of “here we go again” way.


	9. Chapter 9

Pidge was going through the memories that they managed to get off of Sendak and found the location of a super secret Galra base. The only thing they could figure was that it was hidden for a reason and they needed to figure out what that reason was. So off they went. The paladins went into the base, flying close by and landing the green lion on a nearby moon. Karly and Allura went with. Allura had given Karly an old set of battle armor that she had so that she would be safer during battles and reconnaissance missions. It had a white base like everyone else’s with some silver accents that was much the same as Allura’s current armor, but seemed a little more elegant. They all went and changed into their armor before they went to break into the bridge of the base and then a huge battleship docked at the station. Allura and Shiro went to investigate it and Keith went to go investigate the huge tubes of yellow stuff.

“I’m going with you,” Karly said.

Lance, Hunk and Pidge all argued, but Keith nodded.

“I could use the backup,” he said.

The other three glared at him.

So the two of them went to check out the tubes of yellow stuff. They watched this weird scary looking dude shoot electricity that looked very similar to the electricity that Sendak used to shock Karly and Shiro out of his hands and turn the yellow stuff purple.

“What is that stuff?” Keith wondered aloud.

Karly shook her head, “I have no idea.”

Keith showed the team a visual of what was happening and they were all really confused about what was going on before Keith determined to take one of the giant vials of purple stuff.

Karly could only roll her eyes and watch his six to make sure that he was safe.

When the weird scary guy attacked, Karly did her best to keep them both safe, and did pretty well at first, but then the scary guy had a disappearing act and reappeared in other places. That made it a little more difficult, but if she focused enough, she could sense where is energy was moving to and block his attack.

The scary guy paused for a moment and looked at her, “You… you are different.”

Karly frowned, thrown off her guard, and then a second later the scary guy attacked again and Keith shoved her out of the way. She crashed into the vials of yellow stuff and some of them broke and leaked onto her, making her cry out as it burned her. She struggled to her feet and swayed a little. She wiped the wetness of the yellow stuff out of her eyes and blinked them open only to find that there was no difference from closing her eyes to opening them.

“Keith, I can’t see!” she cried.

She felt a hand on her arm and started fighting against it until she heard Keith’s familiar voice in her ear, “It’s me, idiot.”

She relaxed a little and let him direct her as he shouted for Pidge to come pick them up. Karly felt a familiar blast of what she assumed was electricity as she and Keith suddenly tumbled through the air and crashed into something. She heard something break and felt something give against her back and then more liquid fall on her. The burning sensation on her back, abdomen, arms, and legs eased, but not on her face. She had a crazy idea and scooped up some of it in her hand and smeared it across her face and felt it ease, but she still couldn’t see. She kept a tight hold on Keith’s hand so as not to lose him. That was when the green lion showed up and saved the two of them. They rushed to save Shiro and Allura, but found only Shiro in the pod that had launched and he told them that Allura had sacrificed herself to save him. They got back to the castle as quickly as possible and rushed Karly into a pod.

“Wait so what happened?” Hunk asked.

Keith explained about the scary wizard guy and how the yellow stuff got all over Karly and then the purple stuff and it seemed to heal her. “It was weird, too. At one point, he stopped and said that she was different.”

“What did he mean by that?” Lance asked.

Keith shook his head, “I wish I knew.”

 

*     * *     * *

 

When Karly’s time in the pod was up, the whole team made sure to be there. The blue window disappeared and Karly let out a little gasp as her eyes fluttered open. Then she looked panicked and rubbed at her eyes before opening them again and looking around.

“Guys?” she asked.

“We’re all here, Kar,” Shiro’s voice answered.

“I- I can’t see!” she exclaimed, almost hysterical.

Shiro took her hand and helped her down from the pod and she clung to him like a lifeline, “You can’t see anything?”

“No,” she was calmed a little by his familiar presence and touch.

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Lance’s voice asked.

Karly glared in his direction, “I don’t know, you idiot. Like I said, I can’t see.”

“We should run some tests,” Pidge’s voice came from the left.

Karly looked over to where she heard her voice, “What would the point of that be?”

“To see if it’s permanent,” she answered.

“I agree. Pidge can help me conduct the tests,” Coran’s voice said.

Karly nodded, “Okay. Can I get something to eat first?’

“Of course,” Shiro said from beside her.

Karly heard Keith next, “Just in case your blindness is permanent or even semi-permanent, we should make sure we don’t help you too much.”

Karly nodded in agreement, “I need to learn to live with my inability to see.”

“Exactly.”

“So we help, but let her learn to do things on her own,” Shiro said.

Karly stayed close to Shiro, on the verge of being overwhelmed. Shiro seemed to sense this, because he started to pull her away from everyone. What Karly couldn’t see was Shiro gesture for the others to let them go. Shiro pulled Karly into his room because he knew she was the most familiar with it. Karly hardly spent the whole night in her room. Usually she would wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares and seek comfort from Shiro or she would be able to somehow sense that someone was having nightmares. Usually it was Keith or Shiro, but mostly it was the latter. So Karly was very familiar with the layout of the room and that would make it easier to get her to calm down. He helped her find the bed and sit down and then helped her focus on breathing.

“Shiro, I can’t see,” she said, her voice breaking.

“I know. But we’ve had curveballs before, and we’re gonna knock this one out of the park, just like we have every other time. Right?” he said.

She gave a shaky nod, “R-right.”

“And you have your whole family out here to help you, right?”

This nod was a little firmer, “Right.”

“And you’re gonna be able to get through this, right?”

This nod was much firmer, “Right!”

Shiro kissed her temple, “You’ve got this. You always get back up whenever you get knocked down.”

Karly gave a bright smile, “You betcha. Thanks, Takashi,” and leaned into him.

“Any time, kiddo.”


	10. Chapter 10

Karly had felt useless before. Especially when she was living at home with her dad and especially when she had gotten back from capture in Spain. She had been put on medical leave for her physical and mental recovery for two months. That was two months of doing nothing. But now she couldn’t see. Which meant she couldn’t do anything. At all. She mostly occupied her time with walking around the castle, keeping a hand on the wall, trying to get a feel for the layout of it without seeing. It was slow going, but she could make it from her room to Shiro and Keith’s rooms and the bridge by herself. Right now she was trying to find the kitchen. She had already ended up on the training deck, in the bathroom (where Keith had been taking a shower. oops.), and Hunk’s room, but had yet to find the kitchen. She let out a frustrated growl and kicked the wall. The paladins and Coran were meeting together in the bridge to discuss plans to rescue Allura from the Galra and Karly was completely and utterly lost somewhere in the castle. She stubbornly pushed forward and came across yet another door. She opened it and started walking around it. The layout was somewhat familiar, but still foreign and she still had no idea where she was. She found a bed and flopped onto it. She had found someone’s bedroom, but she didn’t know whose it was. Tired and exasperated, she slipped under the blankets and decided to just take a nap. When her head hit the pillow and she took a deep breath to let out a sigh, she recognized the scent that came from the pillow, but she couldn’t place it. It was familiar, though, and comforting, and quickly put her at ease. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. 

Karly woke up to someone laughing softly and then weight dipping the mattress she was laying on.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“It’s Lance. Why are you sleeping in my bed?” he asked.

“I was trying to find the kitchen but I couldn’t and then I found another door and hoped I had found the kitchen, but I hadn’t so when I found the bed I decided to just take a nap. I hope you don’t mind,” Karly yawned and stretched a little, still half asleep.

“Skoot,” Lance pushed at her a little.

Karly moved over and Lance got in bed beside her, toeing off his shoes first.

“Did you guys get Allura back?” she asked, trying to stay awake.

“Not yet, but we’re going to,” he said.

“I know,” and with that Karly fell asleep again.

The next time she woke up, her head was resting on someone’s chest. She could hear their heartbeat under her ear and feel their breath on the top of her head. There was an arm around her, the hand at the end of it resting on her waist. She wracked her brain to try to figure out who she was using as a pillow when they adjusted in their sleep, their nose nuzzling into the top of her head. That ruled out Shiro or Keith. They weren’t sleep cuddlers. They were too small to be Hunk and too big to be Pidge. That left Lance. With that realization came a fuzzy memory of Lance coming into the room and her moving over and then falling asleep again. And now they were snuggling. Karly felt her face heat up a little, but brushed it off, shifted a little, and tried to go back to sleep. Lance was actually very comfortable, she found. He made a very good pillow. She let out a little breath and then the worst thing that could possibly happen in that moment happened. She got the hiccups. She tried to stop them to keep from waking Lance, but it didn’t work. She tried to move away so that when her chest jerked from the hiccups it wouldn’t wake him, but he just rolled over and pulled her back to his chest and nuzzled his face into the back of her neck. She let out a little huff that turned into a hiccup and Lance let out a sleepy chuckle.

“Do you have the hiccups?” he asked, voice rough from sleep.

She hiccuped and let out a little growl of frustration, “Yes.”

He tightened his arms around her, “It’s cute.”

“You’re half asleep,” she said.

“That may be true, but you’re always cute, so it’s safe to say that your hiccups are cute too,” he mumbled.

She giggled and turned in his arms to face him and felt his hot breath on her face and his nose bump against hers. Her face immediately started to burn. She didn’t know how close their faces were, but if their noses were bumping against eachother, they had to be pretty close. She cleared her throat a little and tried to think of something to do when she felt Lance’s calloused hand gently touch her cheek.

“L-lance?”

“Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked in a soft, hushed voice.

She frowned in confusion, “What are you talking about?”

“You. You’re beautiful, Karly, and I don’t think you know it.”

“Because I’m not, Lance,” she whispered, “I’m damaged. I have scars on every inch of my body. How can I be beautiful with all those scars?”

 

She felt Lance’s thumb brush across her cheek, “They’re a part of you. They hold your story in them for anyone to read. And I could read them all day if you let me.”

She squeezed her eyes shut to try to fight against the tears that came with his words and the sincerity behind them, but it didn’t work.

“What’s wrong?” Lance asked.

She shook her head, “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Lance kissed her nose, making it scrunch up, “Well it’s true.”

Karly gave a little laugh, “Thank you. But, Lance, we barely know eachother. How can you be sure-?”

“I know. But I’m willing to take a chance if you are,” he said.

Karly shook her head, “I- I don’t know. I’ve never been in a relationship before and I don’t want to rush into things.”

He nodded even though she couldn’t see him do so, “I understand. Take your time and think about it, okay?”

Karly nodded, “Okay.”


	11. Chapter 11

The more time passed, the more Karly was able to get around without anyone’s help. They had gotten Allura back, and she was a great help to her. She had perfected the art of helping without doing everything for her and letting Karly learn to do things by herself. Within a few weeks, Karly was able to get around the castle by herself without any assistance from anyone. She was very proud of that fact. She carefully made her way towards the lounge area where Lance was doing a movie night with a pillow and blanket fort. When she found it, she was met by a round of applause.

“You did it!” Allura congratulated her.

Karly smiled and laughed a little, keeping her hands out so that she wouldn’t run into anything. She jumped a little when hands wrapped around her own.

“There’s a step down right there,” Pidge’s voice said from where Karly guessed the others were. Somehow, she knew that the whole gang was there. She just didn’t know how.

Karly smiled and carefully took the step down, but she slipped and fell into whoever was holding her hands, “Keith or Lance?”

“Who do you think?” Shiro asked from close to where Pidge had been.

He righted her and she ran her hands up their arms, to their shoulders, neck, and then face. She carefully felt their face and their hair, “Lance.”

“Right you are,” his voice came from right in front of her.

She smiled, “So did you guys make the fort yet?”

“We just started actually,” Keith said.

“Good. I’ll sit over here so that I don’t get in the way,” Karly tried to sit down and somehow ended up sitting on someone’s lap.

“Lance,” Shiro chided.

Karly laughed, “It’s fine. Besides, he’s comfy.”

Lance chuckled, “Thanks, sweetheart.”

Karly settled down and got comfy, but gave no reply. She still didn’t know what she wanted with Lance.

“Nope, my turn,” Shiro scooped up Karly and then walked a little ways away and sat on the floor with her in his lap. 

Karly giggled. 

“I haven’t gotten enough Karly time,” he said, “And I want to talk to you,” he finished in a low voice. 

“About what?” shematched his volume. 

“Lance. I’m pretty sure he likes you,” Shiro said. 

“I know.”

“You do?” Shiro sounded surprised.

She nodded, “He all but told me.”

“Oh. And?”

“And what?”

“Do you like him?”

Karly let out a sigh and rested her head against his shoulder, “I don’t know, Takashi. I’ve never been in a relationship before. And after what happened in Spain, I don’t know if I’ll be able to give him what he wants.”

Shiro glanced over at Lance, who was staring at Karly until he noticed Shiro watching him in which case he looked away from her quickly, all of this to which Karly was blissfully unaware, “I think the only thing he wants from you is you.”

Karly just scoffed, “Right. No offense, but he’s a guy.”

Shiro chuckled, “I know. But I don’t think that’s what he’s after.”

She sighed, “I don’t know. I just don’t know if I can.”

“Well, from my experience, you’ll never know if you don’t try it out,” he said sagely.

She giggled, “That’s very wise.”

Shiro rested his cheek on the top of her head, “I know.”

She laughed louder, “You’re such a dork.”

He chuckled, “I know.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I’m saying I think you should give him a chance. See what happens.”

She let out a sigh, “But what if-”

“If you live your life by what if’s are you really living?” Shiro asked, quoting her from when he didn’t have the guts to ask Adam out back on Earth.

Karly huffed, “It’s not fair when you use my own words against me.”

He grinned, “It totally is.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Oh my heck you guys are worse than little kids,” Keith said, making them giggle.

“Is not,” Karly whispered.

Shiro chuckled, “So, you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Which one?”

“Do you like Lance?”

“Ugh, fine, yes I do.”

“Then what’s stopping you?”

She sighed, “Nothing I guess.”

They were quiet for a moment.

“Hey, Kashi?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you give me back to Lance?”

“Sure.”

Karly felt Shiro get up and then walk a little bit before she was gently placed in someone else’s lap and heard Shiro say “you can have her back now” before she heard Lance’s voice respond, “Thanks” and felt the chest her arm was pressed against vibrate as Lance spoke so it was reasonable to believe that she had been deposited on Lance’s lap.

Lance adjusted the way she was sitting so that it was more comfortable for her to sit and him to be sat on before whispering, “So what were you and Shiro talking about?”

“Oh, nothing really. He was just reminding me that I can’t go through life ‘what if’ing everything,” she answered.

He hummed, “What does that mean exactly?”

She found his hand and rested hers on top of it, her palm against his knuckles, lacing their fingers together, “I’m willing to give this a shot if you are.”

He squeezed her hand and she could feel the happiness radiating from him, “Here’s to hoping we hit the bulls eye.”

Karly smiled.

Lance moved her hand up and she felt him press his lips against her knuckles as she settled with her back against his chest and his arms around her. She could definitely get used to this.


	12. Chapter 12

The team was still making repairs to the ship from the fight with Zarkon and Haggar that had ensued when they had gone to rescue Allura. Pidge found a weird thing somewhere that lead them to the planet with an alien species called the Olkari, a race of brilliant engineers who have a deep connection to the earth. Karly stayed with Lance as they went to investigate. When they stepped out of the blue lion onto the planet, they were in the middle of a forest and Karly kept a tight hold on Lance so as not to lose him and he helped her make sure she didn’t trip over anything as they looked for the inhabitants of the planet. It turns out, the inhabitants found them instead. They took them to a woman named Ryner, who took a shine to Pidge and Karly both. Pidge, Karly could understand, but she didn’t get why Ryner paid her any special attention. When they heard about how King Lubos was a prisoner to the Galra and that the Galra were using the Olkari as slaves, Voltron went to free him while Karly was left behind with Ryner.

“You are special, my dear,” she said.

Karly frowned, “You’re the second person to say something like that to me. How am I special?”

Ryner chuckled, “You have a resilience in you that is hard to find. And I don’t think you are completely human.”

Karly blinked, “What are you talking about?”

“I believe you may share a kinship with the Princess you travel with. You two share the same energy,” Ryner explained.

“You mean I might be part Altean?” Karly asked, “That might explain some things, actually.”

“Like what?”

“Ever since I lost my sight, I’ve been able to sense the energies of everyone. It took a while for me to get the hang of it, but I can mostly identify anyone on the team as soon as I walk into a room. I sometimes get Keith and Lance mixed up, but I’m getting better at that,” Karly confided.

Ryner pondered this for a moment, “Come with me. I want to see something.” She led Karly to a part of the forest where they were alone and directed Karly to kneel with her hands pressed against the earth of the forest floor and clear her mind. “Now, what do you see?”

Karly took deep breaths and focused, “I don’t know.”

“Clear your mind, Karly. Let nothing stay in it.”

She did as she was told, “I don’t know if it’s ‘seeing’, per se, but I can sense, well, everything.”

“Tell me.”

“I can sense the trees, and the Olkari in them. I can sense you, the river a little ways off, some of the animals in the forest, the Galra base and the Earth that’s dying around it.”

“Good. Now focus and tell me what else you can see. Let your energy become one with the earth,” Ryner instructed.

Karly took a deep breath and focused and then gasped. She was suddenly aware of everything within a fifty mile radius. The Olkari slaves worked to the bone by the Galra. The Galran soldiers who served as their task masters, the fish in the river, the leaves on the trees, even the insects that flew through the air. Karly’s breathing started to turn into gasping breaths.

“Focus, Karly. Find something to focus on and then tiptoe your way past it,” Ryner’s voice brought her back and her breathing slowed.

Karly took a deep breath and focused on Ryner. She focused on the energy that came from Ryner. It was soft and strong at the same time, a little like Shiro’s. Like a soft puppy who was trained as a guard dog. Karly let her focus branch out a little until she could feel the energy of the Olkari in the village a little ways off. After she felt she was familiar with that, she moved her focus even farther out and found-

“Galra soldiers coming this way!” she gasped.

Ryner helped Karly to her feet they ran as quickly as they could to the village to warn the people. Karly was surprised when she didn’t need Ryner’s help to jump over the tree roots. She still couldn’t see, but she was acutely aware of her surroundings and the people in them, as if she could. But her sight hadn’t miraculously returned, she could just sense the energy coming off of the objects and people. Karly smiled. It might not be seeing, but it was good enough to fight.

“Ryner!” she waited until she felt the leader of the village look in her direction, “I’m going to need a sword.”

She felt Ryner smile, “You learn quickly.”

Karly smiled back, “I had a good teacher.”

Ryner tossed her a sword and Karly caught it in time for the Galra to burst into the clearing they were in. Karly immediately ran towards them and attacked, taking the first three down in a matter of seconds. She sensed a soldier sneaking up behind her and quickly dispatched of them and then made quick work of the rest of the Galra that had tried to attack the village. When she was done, she stood, panting and grinning like a fool.

“It feels good to be able to do that again. I was tired of being helpless.”

The pair ran back to the village to find the paladins back.

“Lance!” Karly called, and ran toward him.

He caught her in his arms, “How did you know where I was?” he asked.

Karly grinned, “I could feel you.”

She sensed him frown, “What?”

“I’ll explain later. The point is, Ryner taught me something and I still can’t see, but I can feel the energy of everything around me,” she said.

“So can you sense where Lubos is?” Keith asked.

Karly frowned, “In a room eating a feast.”

The paladins stared at her in awe.

“That’s some trick,” Shiro commented.

Karly nodded, “Tell me about it. Anyways, what’s going on?”

They managed to get the Olkari to attack the Galra and after some difficulty, managed to liberate the Olkari from their enslavement and kick the Galra off the planet. When it was time to go, Karly hugged Ryner tightly.

“Thank you. You’ve done more than you know for me.”

Ryner smiled, “And you for me.”

Karly smiled in return, “I don’t suppose you have some magic thingy that will return my eyesight do you?”

Ryner chuckled, “I’m afraid not, but I gave you the next best thing.”

“You sure did. I wish you and your people well, Ryner.”

“And I you, Karly Minova.”

Karly went to stand between Lance and Hunk as Pidge said her goodbyes to Ryner. Lance went to poke Karly, but she smacked his hand away without looking at him.

“You can see!” Lance accused.

“No I can’t!” she argued, “Look, I told you, I’ll explain when we get back to the castle where I can say it once and have it over with, okay.”

Lance clearly wasn’t happy with that, but allowed it.


	13. Chapter 13

When everyone had settled down from the adventure on Olkarion, Karly had them all meet in what they were all calling the family room so that she could explain what happened with her while they went to go rescue Lubos. When she was finished, she waited for them to soak it all in.

Allura was the first to speak, “So you might be part Altean?” she asked.

Karly shrugged, “Ryner seemed to think so and I very well might be. I never knew who my mother was. My father told me she died giving birth to me.”

“And we all have different energies that you can use to identify us?” Hunk asked.

“Pretty much.”

“Cool!”

“Can we test that?” Coran asked.

“Sure. Why don’t you all get in a circle without telling me where you are and then I’ll see if I can guess where you guys are.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Shiro said.

Karly heard them all shuffle around her until they were standing where they wanted to and stopped moving. She focused on the different energies coming from around the room and sorted them out.

She pointed in front of her, “Keith?”

“Nope,” Lance’s voice answered.

She moved her hand and pointed at her eight o’clock, “Keith.”

“Yeah. How come you mixed up me and Lance?” Keith’s voice asked.

She shrugged, “The two of you have similar energies,” she pointed to the right of Keith, “Pidge,” to the right of Pidge, “Allura,” to the right of Allura, “Shiro,” to the right of Shiro, “Lance, to the right of Lance, “Hunk,” to the right of Hunk, “Coran,” to the right of Coran, “Keith.”

“Bravo,” Allura said after a moment of amazement.

Karly gave a sheepish smile, “Thanks.”

“So can you just sense us or can you sense anyone?” Hunk asked.

“I can sense everything,” she answered, “I even took down a few of the Galra sentries that were getting too close to the village on Olkarion.”

“That’s my girl!” Lance said proudly, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

She grinned, “Thanks. But now I can go on missions with you guys!”

“Not right away,” Shiro said, “I want to test this out and make sure it’s foolproof. I don’t want you thinking you can do this and then get hurt out there. Or worse.”

Karly pouted, but agreed, “Fine,” and let out a yawn.

“In the meantime, let’s all get some sleep,” Shiro said.

Karly hugged everyone goodnight and they all went their separate ways.

After walking towards her room for a few moments, she paused, “You can stop sneaking around, Lance.”

“How did you know?” Lance whined, coming to stand beside her.

“Cuz I know everything,” she said simply, making him chuckle as he came over and laced their fingers together, “Except for how you changed into your pajamas so fast.”

Lance chuckled, “I’m a man of mystery, Karl.”

She giggled, “That you are. So why are you stalking me?”

“Cuz you make the nightmares go away,” he answered.

“Are you asking to sleep in my room tonight?” she asked as they walked into her room.

“If you’ll let me.”

“Of course I will,” Karly walked over to her dresser and looked for her pajamas before starting to get changed into them, smiling to herself when she sensed Lance immediately face the wall, “Such a gentleman,” she muttered to herself. It was refreshing.

“Can I look yet?” Lance asked after a few moments.

She smiled as she started to fold her clothes and put them away, “Yes, love.”

“I like it when you call me that,” he said as he laid down and got comfortable on her bed.

“I like calling you that,” she replied.

“What about you? What do you want me to call you?” he asked.

She walked over to the bed and laid down beside him, putting her head on his chest and resting her arm on his stomach, only half surprised to find him shirtless. He tended to switch between shirt and no shirt. “I don’t know,” she answered, “Try different things out and I’ll let you know if I don’t like it.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lance wrapped her up in his arms and looked down at her face, before cupping her cheek in his hand and rubbing his thumb over a spot on her cheekbone under her left eye, “I think I found an Altean mark on your face.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. It looks like a regular old birthmark, but it’s looks like the ones that Allura and Coran have. Wonder why I didn’t see it before.”

She hummed, “Maybe you just didn’t look.”

“Oh I look all the time, sweetheart,” he chuckled, “Pidge used to tease me about how much I would stare at you, but now she can’t say anything about it.”

“But why would you stare at me?”

“Because you’re beautiful,” the way he said it made it clear that to him, it wasn’t just an opinion. It was cold, hard fact and there was no way of getting around it. She was beautiful to him and there was nothing that could change that.

She gave him a soft smile and leaned into his hand that was still holding her face like she was something precious to him.

Lance smiled back at her and rested his forehead against hers, “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Except for maybe my mama.”

Karly kissed his nose, “Thank you. Tell me about your mama. What’s she like?”

“She’s one of the nicest people you’ve ever met, but tough as a bull. She’s the best cook, too. Her yuca con mojo is the best I’ve ever had. She has a secret ingredient that she’s only told my sister about. I think it’s cinnamon but I’m not sure.”

“She sounds wonderful.”

“She is. What about your dad? Any good memories with him?”

Karly thought about it, “Some. We had this ice cream shop that we used to go to for special occasions. We both always got the same flavors. He would always get chocolate chip and i would always get vanilla.”

“Is vanilla your favorite?”

“Not really, but that shop made the best vanilla ice cream you’ve ever had.”

Lance chuckled, “You’ll have to take me there some time.”

She smiled, “I’d like that. And someday maybe your mama can teach me to cook yuca con mojo,” she yawned.

“I’m sure she’d love to, amor.”

Karly hummed happily and snuggled into him, “I like that one. It makes me happy.”

“Amor?”

She nodded.

He kissed the top of her head, “I’m glad you like it. Now, why don’t we try to sleep?”

The last sentence fell on deaf ears because she was already asleep.

He chuckled, “Always one step ahead of me,” and settled to sleep himself.


	14. Chapter 14

They weren’t able to sleep for long before Zarkon attacked them. They ran for it, but weren’t able to make a full jump because of the teladuv’s plates being broken. They made it far enough that they thought that Zarkon wouldn’t be able to track them, but no matter how far they got, Zarkon followed. Both Keith and Allura thought it was them he was tracking them through and both tried to sneak off that night. Karly woke up, somehow sensing more movement than was normal for that time of night and felt both Keith and Allura going towards the pods. She let out a small sigh, kissed Lance on the forehead, quickly changed into her armor and ran to catch them before they left. She ran in just in time to see Allura fall and Keith catch her.

“So, looks like you both had the same idea as the other,” she said by way of announcement.

They both looked over at her.

“We’re just trying to protect the team,” Allura said.

“Don’t try to stop us,” Keith said.

Karly chuckled and vaulted into the pilot’s seat of the pod, “I’m not going to. I’m going to join you.”

Keith shook his head, “There’s no room for you.”

Allura went to the other side of the pod and pushed a button that made a third seat pop up, “She can sit there.”

“Or Keith can,” she said with a smug grin.

Keith rolled his eyes and flipped her the bird before climbing in and sitting in the thrid seat as Allura settled into her own seat.

“I saw that, Kogane,” Karly said as she got ready to go, “Do we have a destination, Princess?”

“As far away from here as possible,” Allura answered.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Karly gunned it and they shot off into space.

It was a few hours before anyone contacted them.

“Where are you guys?” Shiro asked.

“We’re far away from you. We need to make sure we’re not the ones that Zarkon is tracking us through,” Keith explained.

“Is Karly with you?” Lance’s anxiety ridden voice asked.

“I’m here, love. I didn’t like the idea of them going by themselves so I tagged along. Sorry I scared you,” Karly answered him.

She heard him audibly sigh, “As long as you’re okay.”

“Fit as a fiddle,” She promised.

Then Zarkon attacked the castle anyways.

They punched the button that added the fuel that Pidge had added, but the pod blew up and scattered the three of them. Keith caught Allura first and then the two of them caught Karly. They started to slowly but surely make their way to where the castle was until Red flew in and caught them. After that the going was much faster and they were soon back with the others in the heat of battle. Karly felt kind of useless during the battle, but she was starting to get used to it. She wasn’t a paladin and it wasn’t like she had a fighter to pilot to help out. If anything, she would just get in the way. So she sat tight in Red until the fight was over and they had saved the people from falling into the acid that was their planet.

When they got back into the castle, Lance came running to Karly and scooped her into his arms and spun her around, leaving her to wrap her arms and legs around him tightly.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said into her shoulder.

She nodded, “I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“I am now that you’re here,” he said.

Karly giggled, “You’re so cheesy.”

“You think it’s cute,” he said boldly.

She smiled, “You’re not wrong.” and then whispered something in his ear.

He gasped dramatically, “No way! How do you know?”

She shrugged, “He’s my best friend, babe, I always know. Also, I thought we established that I know everything last night.”

“How could I forget?” Lance kissed her forehead, “So are you gonna get down or am I just gonna have to carry you around everywhere?”

Karly clung to him like a koala and Keith chuckled.

“You never give her a choice, Lance. If you do she will always chose the one that gives her more cuddles,” he said.

Lance smiled and ruffled Karly’s hair fondly, “I don’t mind so much.”

Karly made a cute little happy sound that made Lance chuckle and said, “I wanna change out of my armor and then take a nap.”

“I am with you,” Lance agreed, “If you guys need anything we’ll be in our room.”

When they got to Karly’s room, she lifted her head and cocked her head to the side, “Our room?”

Lance flushed, “Yeah. It just sort of slipped out. Do you mind?”

She smiled, “Not at all.”

They both changed into their pajamas and laid on the bed. Lance layed on his back and Karly basically layed on top of him, wrapping her arms around his middle and using his chest as a pillow.

“You really like to cuddle don’t you?” Lance asked.

“Mhmm.”

Lance thought for a moment, “Can I ask you something?”

Karly propped her chin up on his chest, “Of course.”

He hesitated for a beat before asking, “Is it okay if I kiss you?” 

Karly blinked and thought about it, “Just a kiss? Nothing… handsy?”

“Nothing handsy,” he promised.

“A-and you’ll stop if I need you to?”

“Of course,” he assured.

“O-okay.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, “Yeah.”

Lance smiled and gently pressed his lips against hers. She was very hesitant and Lance pulled away after a few seconds.

“We can go as slow as you need to, mi corazon,” he promised.

She rested her forehead on his chest, “I’m sorry. It’s just-” she sighed, “I’m not used-”

“I’m being more gentle than you’re used to?” he asked.

She nodded.

Lance cupped her face in his hands, “We can go your pace. However slow you need to go.”

Karly leaned into his touch, “You’re too good for me.”

“No. You deserve the world, Karly. You do. And I’m going to do my best to give it to you,” Lance said softly, brushing his thumb across her cheek.

She turned her head and kissed the palm of his hand, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Do you want to try that again?” she asked shyly.

Lance smiled softly at her, “Yeah.”

This kiss lasted a little longer, but was still just as sweet and chaste as the first one. When they broke apart, they were both smiling at eachother. Karly brought her hands up to rest under her chin and smiled happily at him.

“What’s got you so happy?” Lance asked.

She kissed his palm again, “You. You’re just a real cool person, babe.”

“Thank you, baby,” he kissed her nose, making it scrunch up.

“I like that one, too,” she said. 

“I’m glad you like it,” he yawned.

“Tired?”

“Just a little. You want to stay up a little more?” he asked.

She shook her head, “I don’t know when we’ll be able to sleep again, so we should take advantage of this while we can.”

“You’re right. One more kiss?”

She giggled, “One more, then we have to sleep.”

Lance put his hands on Karly’s hips and pulled her up a little so that he didn’t have to tilt his head up so far to kiss her, making her giggle.

“Can you breathe?” she asked.

“Baby, you’re a feather weight,” he promised with a smile.

She hummed and kissed him, “I like kissing you,” she remarked.

“That’s good,” he kissed her again, “Cuz I like kissing you.”

She giggled, “It’s different than anything else I’ve ever experienced.”

“Good,” he kissed her again.

She let it last a little longer, still a little shy and uncertain, before breaking it, “This is far more than just one more kiss.”

He smiled, “But it’s just so much fun,” he punctuated each word with a kiss.

She laughed, “But we need sleep,” she poked his nose with each word.

He groaned, “Okay, fine.”

She settled on his chest to sleep and hummed in content when she felt his hand rub up and down her back gently, “Goodnight, love.”

“Goodnight, mi amor.”


	15. Chapter 15

Karly was back in Spain, strapped to a table and nearly naked. Her torturers came in and cracked their knuckles.

“Shall we try this again?” the woman asked.

“I told you, I don’t know anything,” Karly said.

“See the only problem with that is we don’t believe you,” the man said.

Karly rolled her eyes, “Then you’re idiots.”

“Tell us what you know!” the woman shouted, pulling a red hot poker from the fireplace.

Karly glared at her, “I told you, I don’t know anything.”

The woman brought the poker to Karly’s skin, making her scream from the pain, “Try again.”

This went on until Karly felt gentle, familiar hands on her shoulders and heard a distant voice that was getting louder by the second as Karly came out of her nightmare. She was still too panicked to be able to focus enough on energies, so she just looked around blindly in a panic as tears of terror rolled down her face.

“Karly, you’re alright. You’re okay,” a soft voice assured.

“L-lance?” karly asked, her voice shaking.

Lance’s hands went to her face to wipe away her tears with his thumbs, “Yeah, sweetheart. It’s me. You’re with me. We’re okay.”

Karly hung her head and buried her face in her hands, her body racking with sobs, “I can’t,” she gasped, “I can’t breathe.”

Lance didn’t really know what to do, so he commed Shiro, hoping he would wake up. Shiro ran into the room in no time and pulled Karly into his arms and held her tight, hushing her gently and talking to her in a low, soft, patient voice as Karly sat shaking in his arms, trying to control her breathing.

“Can you breathe with me?” Shiro asked.

She nodded and kept a tight hold on the fistful of fabric that was in her hand.

Shiro kept her head pressed gently to his chest as he took deep breaths. It took a while, but eventually Karly was able to follow his rhythm. After a while longer of breathing together, she had calmed down to the point where she had stopped crying. 

“Do you want to go to Lance or do you want to stay with me?” Shiro asked.

Karly took in a shuddering breath and reached out a shaking hand in the direction she thought Lance might be in. Lance caught her hand and gently pulled her into his lap.

“She’ll be okay, just give her a few hours to a couple days. If she has more nightmares or panic attacks like this, you can call me or Keith if you need to,” Shiro told him.

Lance nodded, “Thanks, Shiro.”

Karly curled up in Lance’s lap and wrapped her arms around him tightly and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

When Shiro left, Lance shifted a little so he was leaning against the wall a little, “You okay, amor?”

Karly gave a slow nod, “Just don’t let go of me. Please.”

“Never in a million years,” he promised.

They sat there for a while, Lance running his fingers through her hair and whispering sweet nothings to her. He even rocked her a little bit and that seemed to get her to calm down more. At least now he knew what to do for her nightmares, he thought to himself. When she couldn’t calm down, he had never felt so helpless in his life. He knew Shiro would know what to do so that’s why he had called him.

“I hate that this keeps happening,” Karly said softly.

Lance shook his head, “It’s alright, amor. It still hasn’t been very long since you got out. And if you still have nightmares about it years on down the road, that’s alright too.”

She looked up at him, now able to focus enough to understand where he is and where his eyes were, “Are you sure you want to be here for all of that?”

Lance kissed her forehead, “I want to be here for all of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”

She giggled, “You did not just quote that really old cowboy movie.”

“Oh but I did,” he grinned.

She smiled and leaned into him, “You’re funny.”

“Thank you. I try. Do you want to try to go back to sleep, or do you need to stay up a little longer?” he asked.

She sighed, “I don’t know. Will you stay up with me?”

“Of course,” he promised, “But I might accidentally fall asleep.”

“That’s alright. I just don’t know if I can sleep again tonight.”

He kissed her cheek, “I’m right here with you. Nothing can hurt you while I’m here. I promise.”


	16. Chapter 16

The rest of the night was sleepless for Karly so she ended up being very tired the next day. Lance had fallen asleep about an hour after he had made his promise to Karly and she didn’t blame him. He needed the rest. About a half hour after Lance had fallen asleep, Karly slipped out of bed, got dressed, and headed to the training deck, wanting to try her hand at battling the gladiator. When everyone else was awake, they met up in the bridge to discuss a plan of action. Keith, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, and Coran were going to a nearby Unilu outpost to try to find some teluduv lenses, Shiro was going to go work on strengthening his bond with his lion, and that left Karly and Allura to try to figure out how they were going to pass the time.

“What do you want to do?” Karly asked, laying on the floor.

Allura was laying beside her, “I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” Karly sighed.

Allura giggled, “Looks as if we’re pretty useless unless there’s someone to fight.”

Karly laughed with her, “You’re right.”

“Training deck?”

“Training deck.”

They went to the training deck and each selected their choice of sword. They then walked to the center of the room and stood a few paces from eachother.

“You’re sure you can do this?” Allura asked.

Karly nodded, “I can see well enough, for a blind person.”

They both laughed at that.

“You ready?”

“When you are.”

And so it began. They quickly found out that they were evenly matched with eachother. Their talents were similar, but different at the same time. In fact, one might say their skills were complementary to one another. After some time, they both called for a time out, both covered in sweat and completely out of breath.

“Not bad, for a blind woman,” Allura commented.

Karly grinned, sitting against the wall to catch her breath, “Not bad for an old lady.”

They both chuckled as Allura came to sit beside her.

“Shall we see how we fare against the gladiators?” Allura suggested.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

So they sparred with the gladiators. It was then that they found out their skills really did complement eachother. They made the perfect team. Where Karly left a part of her guard open, Allura would be there to defend it. When Allura got knocked down, Karly was there fighting until she got back up. When the others got back, they went to look for the two women and watched in awe as they fought together. Then Kalterneker mooed loudly, distracting Karly.

She looked over at the door in confusion, “Is that a cow?”

One of the gladiators managed to land a punch right on her face, knocking her to the ground with a thud.

“End simulation,” Allura called, also on the ground.

“What level did we make it to?” Karly asked with a groan.

“I don’t remember. High?”

Karly chuckled, then remembered why she had been knocked down, “Seriously, was that a cow?”

“Yeah,” Shiro walked over and helped Allura to her feet while Keith helped Karly.

“Why do we have a cow?” Karly asked, leaning on Keith a little while she caught her bearings.

“He came with a video game and consol that Pidge and I bought,” Lance said proudly.

“What are you guys going to hook it up to?” Hunk asked.

When they didn’t answer, Karly chuckled, “I don’t think they thought that far ahead, big guy. While they figure that out, I need some lunch.”

“Lunch sounds great right now,” Lance said.

“I’ll cook,” Hunk volunteered.

Keith walked in front of Karly and crouched down a little. She jumped on his back and he carried her to the mess hall.

“You’re the best,” she told him.

“I know.”

She gave him a noogie.

 

They met up on the bridge after lunch and Shiro declared that they were going to the base of the Blade of Marmora. Pidge got excited because of how advanced it should be based off of the space taco and then Hunk started talking about all the different kinds of food the station could be.

“Aw. Now I’m hungry for breakfast,” Lance complained.

“Guys, this is a serious mission. We need to focus,” Keith said.

“We need to focus,” Lance mimicked.

Karly smacked him upside the back of his head.

“Ow! What was that for?” he rubbed the back of his head.

“For being an idiot. We literally just had lunch and you’re complaining about wanting breakfast and you’re being mean to my best friend.”

Lance pouted and Karly rolled her eyes.

“I’m not apologizing.”

“My girlfriend is mean,” Lance whined.

“Oh cry me a river,” Keith snapped.

“Guys!” Shiro barked.

“The base is within range,” Coran announced.

“Take us in slowly,” Shiro ordered.

“That might prove the tiniest bit of a challenge.”

The base ended up being between two black holes and a giant blue star.

There was a hailing frequencey that said that they could allow two to enter. 

“What about three?” Shiro asked.

There was a pause, and then instruction to come unarmed.

“So who’s going with you?” Lance asked.

“Karly,” Shiro asked.

“Who else? You’re going to need someone who’s able to stay cool under pressure,”Lance said.

“That’s true. Which is why I’m bringing Keith, too.”

Lance didn’t seem to like that idea, but it wasn’t like he could do anything about it.

The three of them made it to the base where they were escorted to a sort of hall.

Shiro introduced them as the paladins of Voltron.

“We know who you are, but who is the girl?” The one at the head of the hall asked.

“My name is Karly Minova,” she answered.

“Minova?” the leader asked, “I know that name.”

“We don’t know yours,” Karly pointed out.

“My name is Kolivan. I thought we told you to come unarmed?”

“The Red Lion is pretty much what confirmed out ID,” Shiro said.

“Not the lion. You’re friend,” Kolivan looked over at Keith.

One of the Blades pinned Keith to the ground and pulled out his knife, “It is one of ours,” he reported, “Who did you take it from?”

“I didn’t! I’ve had it my whole life!” Keith insisted.

“Can either of your friends attest to that?” Kolivan asked.

“I- I don’t know,” Shiro said, “Karly?”

“Keith’s mother left that knife to him when he was a baby,” Karly reported.

“You three should leave,” Kolivan said.

“We came here to form an alliance, but obviously, we’re not welcome,” Shiro said, “Come on, guys. We’re leaving.”

“Hang on. I want answers. Somehow this blade ended up with me on planet Earth. I want to know how,” Keith said.

“And how do you know my name?” Karly asked.

“You two seek answers. The only way to obtain them around here is to endure the Trials of Marmora,” Kolivan said.

Karly and Keith looked at eachother and nodded before saying in unison, “We’ll do it.”

Shiro objected to it, but the two of them were determined.

“The Trials end in two ways. Knowledge, or death. You will go one at a time. The boy will go first.”

Keith and Karly were taken to seperate rooms and changed into new clothes. Karly was then instructed to wait until someone came for her.

“Can I have someone stay here with me? I don’t do well on my own for extended periods of time,” she requested.

Someone stayed in the room with her, though they made no conversation. Karly sat on the floor and focused, looking for Keith to try to make sure he was okay. When he got cut in the shoulder, Karly flinched. She watched from her place the best she could. Everytime Keith got hit, she would flinch.

“Why are you flinching?” the Blade who was in the room with her asked.

“My friend is taking a beating, how am I not to flinch?” she retorted, bringing her focus back to the room she was sitting in.

“How do you know?” the Blade asked.

She turned to him and opened her eyes, revealing their unseeing nature, “I do not require eyes to see.”

“Then you know, your friend is not meant to go through those doors. And you are not either,” the Blade said.

“I know. Keith is very bullheaded though, but he’s smart. He’ll figure it out,” she siad.

“Have you?” the Blade asked.

“I have an idea, but I don’t know if I am correct or not,” Karly said.

“We shall soon see,” the Blade said.

“Might I ask your name?”

“I am Bulshrik,” the Blade said.

“That’s an interesting name.”

“So is yours. Might I ask where you got it?”

“After my father died, I took my mother’s name as my last. I wanted nothing from my father,” Karly said.

“Was he not a good man?”

Karly scoffed, “Not even close. Sometimes he would lock me in the closet for days on end with nothing but popcorn and water bottles to eat and drink.”

“That is why you are unwell by yourself.”

Karly nodded.

“It is the girl’s turn,” someone at the door announced.

Karly got to her feet and turned towards the new Blade, “Do I get a weapon? I’m assuming I’ll need one.”

Bulshrik held one out to her, “You are to use mine.”

Karly took it, “Thanks, B.”

Bulshrik chuckled, “I guess you really don’t need eyes to see.”

Karly winked at him and followed the new blade out of the room. She went into the new one and waited. One of the Blades rose up out of the floor and demanded that she give up on her quest.

“Can’t do that, three eyes. I need to know how you know my name.”

“So be it.”

Karly annalyzed everything that happened as she progressed through the rounds. She made it to the sixth level before she realized that she was supposed to go through the hole in the ground that the Blades rose up in. She slipped out of the room and into a new one. 

Karly walked into the room and felt around for anyone’s energy. She found none, but heard someone’s voice as though they were right in front of her.

“Minova,” a familiar voice said.

“McClausky?” Karly asked, “How-?”

“That’s not important right now. What’s important is that you get out of here,” his voice said.

Karly shook her head, “I can’t do that just yet, McClausky.”

“Yes you can. Come with me. You can finally rest, Minnie.”

Karly shook her head as her eyes pricked with tears, “You’re dead McClausky. I can’t follow you anywhere.”

“You can follow me to where you sent me,” he offered.

She shook her head again, falling to her knees, “No I can’t. I have work to do. There’s more that needs to be done.”

A hand was suddenly on her cheek, “You’ve done enough, Minnie. It’s time to rest.”

Karly took several deep breaths before saying, “I can’t follow where you asked me to send you. I can’t. Not yet. Please stop asking me to,” she let out a little sob.

Suddenly, Karly was back in the Garrison, but the ground was shaking outside and alarms were going off.

“What’s going on?” she stopped a cadet that was running past her.

“Colonel!” they squeaked, “We’re being attacked. The General needs you in the war room right now!” 

Karly started running towards the war room but stopped when she heard a familiar tune being hummed. Somehow, she knew it was her mother.

“Mama?” she started following it before the earth shook again. She shook herself out of it, “I can find her later. I need to get to the war room.”

She kept running, but found she was running in circles.

“How do I get out of here?”

She started searching and when she finally found a way out, she realized she was still in the base for the Blades and hadn’t moved.

Karly got to her feet and spread out her mind, looking for someone.

“You failed to awaken the blade,” a voice said in front of her, “Hand it over.”

Karly did so willingly, “Did I pass the trials?”

“Except for awakening the blade,” Bulshrik told her.

“What does that mean?” Karly asked.

“That you have no Galran blood in your veins.”

“Do I still get to know about my mother?”

Kolivan walked in, “Yes.”

“Who was she?” Karly asked him.

“We will discuss this on your ship,” Kolivan told her.

She nodded, “Yes sir. Where are my friends?”

“They’re safe. I will take you to them,” Kolivan said.

She nodded and followed after him.


	17. Chapter 17

While they were in Red on the way back to the castle, Kolivan looked over at Karly thoughtfully, “You’re not used to taking orders are you?”

She smiled sheepishly, “It’s been a while. I’m a Colonel back home, so there’s only a few people who can give me orders. I actually outrank Shiro, but he’s the leader of Voltron and I don’t mind taking orders from him.”

Kolivan nodded, “So you’re a leader.”

“In a way. I’m sort of the in between person, so to say,” Karly said.

“So you’re trusted by those higher up and by those lower in rank?”

She shrugged.

Shiro cut in, “Karly is an excellent leader and she knows how to follow orders. She’s admired by her peers and those who outrank her. Before she was my senior officer, I was hers. She’s smart, thinks outside of the box, and she doesn’t move forward with a plan if it means that even one person is going to be collateral damage.”

“She values life above all else,” Kolivan summed up.

“She does.”

“She reminds me of her mother,” Kolivan commented.

“You knew my mom?” karly asked.

“I did.”

“What was she like?”

“In good time, little one,” Kolivan chuckled at her eagerness.

Karly deflated, “Fine.”

When they got back to the Castle, Kolivan revealed his face and spoke to Allura, saying he was glad the rumors were true.

Allura returned the sentiment and then they started talking shop and Karly took Keith to his room to look after him and make sure he wasn’t too injured.

“Karly, I’m fine, honest,” he insisted.

She glared at him, “Sit.”

He sat.

She did a thorough check up of him, and wrapped a few scratches and put a salve on some deep bruising.

“You know what I am, right?” Keith asked after a few moments of silence.

Karly nodded, “I’ve had a hunch for a while.”

“I’m a monster, Karl.”

“Keith Kogane you listen to me, young man. You are many things, but you are  _ not _ a monster. Do you understand?” Karly said firmly.

Keith just stared at her.

“Do you understand?” 

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a little chuckle.

Karly smiled softly at him, “Good. You’re a good man, Keith. Being part Galra doesn’t change who you are, KK. Alright? If I was part Galra, would you see me any differently?” 

“No.”

“So why do you see yourself any different? You’re still Keith. And you’re still a troublemaker with a heart of gold. Being part Galra doesn’t change any of that,” Karly ruffled his hair.

He smiled at her, “Thanks, Minnie.”

She kissed his forehead, “No Problem. Anything I missed when I was looking you over?”

“I don’t think so,” Keith said.

“Cool. Let’s go see if we can get anything out of Kolivan. I want to see what he knows about my mom.”

Keith nodded, “So why are you dating Lance?”

“Random question, but uh, I don’t know. Because he’s nice and sweet to me,” Karly answered as she took Keith’s hand while they walked out to talk to Kolivan. 

“He left,” Lance said shortly when they came out.

“What’s got your feathers in such a ruffle?” Karly asked.

“Oh nothing,” he said flatly, “But uh, you and Keith seem awfully chummy.”

Karly rolled her eyes, “I’ve told you before, we’re just friends. He’s like my little brother and it’s kind of my job to take care of him. Besides, he has a thing for Pidge. I told you.”

Keith stared at her, “How did you know?!”

She smirked at him, “I’m your best friend. I know everything.”

Keith rolled his eyes.

Lance waved a hand in front of Karly’s face, “Hello, boyfriend talking to you.” 

Karly narrowed her eyes at him, “I can’t see, idiot. Waving your hand in my face just makes me want to cut it off.”

Pidge ran over, “Karly!” and tackled her in a hug, “Shiro told me what happened, are you okay?”

Karly caught her and smiled, “I’m okay, Pidge.”

Pidge saw Keith and went to jump on him, too, but Karly held her back.

“It’s okay, Minnie,” Keith said.

Karly frowned, “As your doctor, I highly recommend a regular hug instead of a tackle one. You need your rest, Keith.”

Keith and Pidge worked on reuniting and Karly turned to talk to Lance, only to find him gone. She sighed and went to her room, changing into comfortable clothes and sitting on the edge of her bed. She swung her feet a little with a small frown. She didn’t know what she had done to upset Lance. She laid down on her side facing the wall and thought about it and decided that maybe they had both rushed into everything. Karly was desperate to find comfort in something or someone and she had latched onto Lance. Perhaps it was a mistake.

Someone knocked on the door before coming in and laying down next to her.

“Allura hates me,” Keith said behind her.

Karly rolled over and cuddled into him. They sought and found solace in eachother the way they always did, “Lance is mad at me. I don’t know why.”

They both sighed.

“Why is it whenever we try to reach out to anyone that isn’t one of the two of us or Shiro, things go wrong?” Keith asked.

Karly shook her head, “I don’t know.”

They laid there for a while, finding comfort in the other’s presence before Karly spoke up.

“Do you think I started my relationship with Lance a little too soon?”

“I don’t know.”

“Me neither.”

The door opened and then there was a scoff and then footsteps and then the door closed. 

Karly buried her face in Keith’s chest and started to quietly cry.

The door opened again and then there were footsteps coming towards the bed and then a weight on the edge of it.

“Why do you two look so sad?” Shiro asked.

“Allura hates me and Lance is mad at Karly,” Keith answered for both of them.

Karly sniffed.

“Well, I think you two might have been a little too eager to start dating. Maybe this is an opportunity to backtrack. Go a little slower,” Shiro said.

Karly buried her face further into Keith’s shoulder, “I want to be able to see. Actually see. Not just be able to sense everything around me. Everything is still black, I just know where everything is. Like I know that Lance is talking to Hunk while Hunk is baking something right now. I know that Allura is taking a walk trying to come to terms with everything. I know Pidge and Coran are talking about something nerdy. But I can’t even see the color of the sky. It’s maddening.” 

Shiro put a hand on her leg, “You’re going to be okay, Mimi.”

Karly sat up too quickly and hit her head on the wall above the bed too hard and effectively knocked herself out.

Keith looked her over, “I think she’s okay. We should let her rest.”

“Agreed. Come on. I think the two of us have some things to talk about anyways,” Shiro helped Keith get up and they left Karly there to sleep.

A few minutes after they left, Hunk came in and left a plate of cookies on the dresser with a little note expressing his wish that she feel better.


	18. Chapter 18

When Karly woke up, she blinked her eyes open and looked blearily around the room. The smell of cookies drew her to the dresser where she found the plate and note that Hunk had left behind the night before.

_ I hope you know everything will be okay. If you need anyone to talk to, I’m always willing to listen. Hope you feel better soon. _

_ ~Hunk _

Karly smiled at the little note and tucked it in the same box she had Keith’s in. She turned to the cookies and picked one up and started eating it. As usual, it was just what she needed.

“Good ol’ Hunk,” Karly said to herself.

The two of them weren’t particularly close, but maybe she would take him up on his offer of a talk. Maybe she could even help cook or bake whatever he was working on.

She yawned and stretched and rubbed her eyes to clear them of sleep and then realized a very obvious fact that was quite literally staring her in the face. She gasped and ran next door into Shiro’s room and started shaking Shiro’s shoulder.

“Takashi! Takashi wake up!”

He groaned and then was completely awake in a second, “What? What happened?!”

“I can see!!!” Karly squealed.

Shiro smiled and pulled her into a hug, “That’s great, Mimi!!”

Karly ran back into the hall and ran into Keith and without thinking kissed him straight on the mouth and then immediately realized what she was doing and pulled away, wiping her mouth. “Sorry. Got a little too excited.”

Keith looked at her in confusion and wiped his own mouth, “Um, Karl? What the actual quiznak??”

“I can see!” she exclaimed, the kiss forgotten.

Keith grinned widely and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

“Cant, breathe,” Karly wheezed out.

Keith let her go, “Did you tell Shiro?”

“I did! I’m gonna go tell Allura!” and with that Karly ran off.

She found Allura in the bridge and ran up to her, “Lura!”

Allura turned to her, “What is it? What’s happened?!”

“I can see!”

Allura’s eyes went wide in shock and she hugged Karly tightly before pulling away a little and kissing her out of excitement.

A couple of seconds later, they both pulled away from eachother completely and awkwardly stared at their shoes.

“Yes, well, uh. Congratulations, Karly. I’m ecstatic for you,” Allura said, clearing her throat.

Karly rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, “Uh, thanks. I’m going to um, go tell the others.”

And Karly hurried away.

She found Hunk and Pidge and told them and Hunk almost killed her with the force of his hug and Pidge wanted to know exactly what had happened and how it had happened and so Karly told her and then she went to find Lance. Instead she found Coran, who hugged her upon the news, but she couldn’t find Lance.

When she finally found Lance, he was asleep in his room. She went to wake him, but was suddenly unsure of herself. He was probably still mad at her and she didn’t know what for. Plus she was planning on breaking things off. She turned to leave when she heard movement behind her.

“Karly?”

She turned and gave him a small smile, “Hey, Lance.”

Lance sat up, “You okay?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I can see again,” she said quietly.

Lance smiled tiredly, “That’s great. I’m happy for you.”

Karly went and sat beside him, “Thanks.”

There was a moment of strained silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Lance was the one who broke it, “I need to talk to you about something.”

She nodded, “Me too, but you go first.”

He took a deep breath, “I think we should break up.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I think we rushed into this a little too quickly. So I think we should take a couple steps back and maybe later if we both feel like it’s something we want to do.”

She let out a breath and gave a little laugh, “That’s actually what I wanted to talk about. So um, I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Lance gave her a smile, “We’re still friends, though, right?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Cuz you’re a good friend and I wouldn’t want to lose that over something as stupid as a breakup.”

Karly chuckled, “Just how petty do you think I am?”

Lance ruffled her hair, “I’m happy you have your sight back.”

“Me too.”


	19. Chapter 19

When they started planning how to take down Zarkon, Karly was an active part of planning. When it came to actually following through with the plan, Karly was stuck in the castle. She listened intently and did her best to sit tight, but when Allura, Kolivan, and Antok decided to leave the castle to dismantle the komar, she leapt at the opportunity to join them.

“Are you sure?” Allura asked.

Karly nodded, “I’m going.”

Allura nodded and they left. Karly fought alongside Allura against the druids, much like they had on the training deck all those weeks ago. Karly had gotten her sight back, but she still used the gift Ryner had taught her to help her and Allura to fight and make sure they didn’t die. When Haggar managed to break through Allura’s guard, Karly was there to take the hit. She immediately crumpled to the ground under the force of Haggar’s magic, so she missed when Allura absorbed the magic and destroyed the komar. When Allura made to escape with Kolivan, she carried Karly in her arms and got her to the castle as quickly as possible. She rushed to the healing pod room and put Karly in the pod. After that, all she could do was wait for her to heal from the injury Haggar had given her. Then they discovered that Shiro had somehow vanished during the fight. The whole team agreed they wanted to wait to figure out what to do until Karly got out of the pod. Keith was even broodier than normal, Allura was fidgety, Pidge was building something, Hunk was cooking, and Lance just sat there, watching the pod, day after day until Karly finally woke up.

When she got out of the pod, she looked around at the team. Everyone was there except-

“Where’s Takashi?” Karly asked.

“Karly-” Lance started to say.

Karly shook her head, “No. He’s not-” she fought back a sob, “He’s not. He-” her legs gave out and Keith caught her.

“After the battle, he disappeared, Minnie.”

Karly clung to him and sobbed into his shoulder.

“Let’s give them a moment,” Allura said, and everyone followed her out of the healing pod room.

Keith sat on the floor and held Karly, “We’re going to find him, Karl. I promise.”

“He said that if anything happened he wanted you to lead Voltron,” Karly said, sniffing and wiping her nose on her sleeve.

Keith nodded, “I know. But with me piloting the Black Lion and Red accepting Lance as her paladin, we need someone to pilot Blue. Either you or Allura are going to fulfill that role.”

Karly nodded, “How do we figure out who it’s going to be?”

“We send both of you down one at a time and see who Blue connects with,” he said with a shrug.

“Okay,” her stomach growled, “Can we get some lunch first?”

He chuckled, “Yeah, we can.”

She smiled, “Awesome.”

They went to the kitchen to get some food when Coran called Keith to the bridge.

“You gonna be alright on your own?”

Karly nodded, “Go see what he needs. I’ll be fine.”

Keith gave a single nod and headed towards the bridge.

Karly ended up just staring at the food goo in front of her, lost in thought. Shiro was gone. She and Lance broke up. Allura kissed her. Zarkon was dead. Keith was the new head of Voltron. Allura had kissed her. Lance was the red paladin now. Allura had kissed her. She shook her head to clear it. It was just a kiss born from excitement. Nothing more. Besides, she wasn’t ready for a relationship. Her and Lance’s relationship was proof of that.


	20. Chapter 20

After a few days, they all decided it was time to pick a new leader of Voltron. They all met in the Black Lion’s hangar and each took a turn to sit in the cockpit to see if the Lion would respond to them, but it only responded to Keith. That left the Red Lion up for grabs.

“I don’t accept this,” Keith said, “I can’t replace Shiro.”

“We’re not asking you to, KK,” Karly told him, “The Black Lion wouldn’t have chosen you if it didn’t feel like you were worthy of the job.”

“Yeah, and no one could replace Shiro anyways,” Lance cut in.

“But, who’s gonna fly Red?” Keith asked.

And so the process went on again. Allura tried again in the red lion and got nothing. When she returned to the lounge area, all eyes turned to Karly.

She shook her head, “I’m not a paladin.”

“You have to try,” Keith encouraged.

Karly shrugged, “Fine.”

She went and sat in the cockpit for Red and closed her eyes. She felt a little tingle, but other than that, nothing. She returned to the living room and shook her head.

“Nada.”

Then there was a distress call and the paladins ran off to help.

“Lance, where are you?” Keith called.

“Blue won’t respond to me!” Lance cried.

“I’m gonna go see what’s going on,” Karly went down to the hangar.

“Lance?”

“Blue won’t open up,” Lance was laying on the floor.

Karly chuckled and sat beside him, “Sounds like a rough time.”

“The roughest.”

She started playing with his hair, “Maybe she’s just tired.”

“I don’t think that’s it. I mean, if she was that tired, I don’t know that the force field around her would be working. Maybe she’s just mad at me.”

“Why would she be mad at you?”

“Cuz I wanted to pilot the Black one.”

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for all this.”

He let out a heavy sigh, “I guess.”

Allura came down, “What’s going on?”

“Blue won’t respond to him so he’s moping,” Karly answered.

Lance gaped up at her, “I am not moping!”

Karly chuckled and scratched at his scalp, “Sure you’re not.”

Lance pouted.

Karly shook her head with an amused smile, “Come on, pouty face. Let’s see what we can do.”

There was a roar from somewhere else in the castle and Karly turned to Lance, “I think that’s your cue, kid.”

Lance smiled and ran off to find the Red Lion.

“I’ll leave you to connect with Blue, Lura.”

Karly went back to the bridge and smiled to herself when she saw Red and then Blue fly out to join the others.

After a few hours, the paladins returned.

“Karly?” Allura asked, finding her in her bedroom stretching.

Karly looked over, “Hey, girlie. Whatcha need?”

“I was just wondering how you knew I was Blue’s paladin and not you?”

Karly sat on her bed and shrugged, “I’m not a paladin.”

“But you could have been,” Allura said, moving to sit beside her.

Karly shook her head, “I used to be a soldier, and a quiznacking good one, too. But now? Now I’m a medic. I heal and I only fight when necessary.”

Allura nodded, “I suppose that makes sense. But I still feel like you would make a better paladin than me.”

Karly gave a little laugh, “I told you. I’m not a paladin. My path is different than yours. You’re path is as the leg of Voltron. Mine is as a medic.”

Allura gave a little smile, “Perhaps you could even say that you’re the medic of Voltron.”

Karly grinned, “That’s got a nice ring to it.”

“I have no doubt that someday, people will know you by that title.” Allura smiled at her.

Karly smiled.


	21. Prologue

Karly contacted Kolivan more frequently than the paladins did, wanting to know as much about her mother as possible. As they spoke, they grew closer and closer and Karly began to look on him as almost a father. Their first call was more Kolivan telling her about how he knew her mother.

“Are you finally going to tell me about her?” Karly asked when she answered.

Kolivan nodded, “Although, you remind me much of her, I doubt I’ll need to tell you much.”

Karly only rolled her eyes.

“Minova was half alive when we found her. She had been hidden in a cryo-pod and had somehow woken up. She didn’t know where she was or what was going on or how long she had been asleep, so we took care of her. She knew her name, and her birthday and promptly went into shock when we told her what year it was. That was thirty years ago,” Kolivan explained.

“But was she Altean?” Karly asked.

“Through and through. But even though she was Altean we took her in as one of our own, the only time we’ve ever made that exception, and trained her. She was already a skilled warrior, but we honed that skill. She became a great asset to our cause. We sent her on a mission to your “Earth” as you humans call it-”

“I’m half human,” Karly interrupted.

Kolivan let out a half-frustrated half-amused sigh, “I’m aware. Anyways, it was a recon mission. She left, stayed for three years, and came back. But when she was just two weeks outside of the base, she was intercepted by the Galra and never heard from again.”

“So she was killed?”

“We don’t know. We just know she was taken and we haven’t heard from her in twenty-seven years.”

Karly was silent as she thought of this then asked, “Did she tell you she had a child during her time on earth?”

“She did, but she didn’t tell us what she did with you. We simply assumed she brought you with her and you had disappeared along with her.”

Karly processed this, “Did you try to find her?”

Kolivan shook his head, “We didn’t want to reveal ourselves.”

Karly nodded, “I understand. Is there anyway we could find her?”

“We can try,” Kolivan said, “But if we did it would be a very small operation, we can’t spare the man power to lead a full investigation.”

“That’s okay. I can lead it myself,” Karly said.

Kolivan offered a ghost of a smile, “I expected no less.”

“Where do we start?”

“We can start by running her picture through facial recognition everywhere we can think of,” Kolivan said.

“Can you send me one? I don’t even know what she looks like.”

Kolivan focused on something else before nodding, “Sending it to you now.”

A picture of a woman appeared on her screen and Karly let out a little gasp, “She’s beautiful.”

Minova had the same long black hair and forgetmenot blue eyes as Karly, but instead of straight hair like her daughter’s, hers was curly. Her skin was darker than Karly’s but not by much, and she had a radiant smile. Her Altean markings were a bright green that matched her eyes. Karly touched the birthmarks on her face subconsciously. They were there, but not colorful like her mother’s. They were always a few shades lighter than the rest of her face, almost chalk white in color. After a few years, they just blended in with the scars on her face.

“You remind me of her, in more ways than one,” Kolivan’s comment snapped her out of her reverie.

A smile escaped from Karly’s mouth before she came to the realization, “You loved her. Didn’t you?”

Kolivan paused, but nodded, “I did. That’s part of the reason that I sent her so far. I knew it was far too dangerous for me to have those feelings for her and even more so if there was a chance that she returned them.”

Karly nodded, “So, you’ll help me find her?”

“I’ll do what I can. If you would like, you are more than welcome to stay at the base while you search for her,” Kolivan offered.

“That’s all I need. Let’s get started.”

 

THE END


End file.
